Beautiful Liar
by AinaAkabane
Summary: Kuroko Tetsuya loves the Generation of Miracles very much. But not the latter, they treated him like garbage, pushing him to the point of suicide. Five years later, they meet again. But what happens when Kuroko doesn't remember any of them? (Story based on Vixx LR's song, Beautiful Liar) Originally posted on Wattpad.
1. My Light That Vanished

**This beautiful lie,  
My one last lie to you,  
Even if it hurts,  
I hide myself under a mask to hide the truth..**

* * *

 _"Kuroko, how could you?" A trembling voice asked over the phone, making the one on the other line shake slightly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.. Ogiwara-kun, please forgive me," the other voice asked in a pleading voice, but the reply he got made him burst into tears. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I can't do it anymore. You're just the same as the other miracles. Cruel and selfish, just like them." The call ended like that, making the tealnette fall to his knees, hot tears streaming down his pale cheeks as he covered his mouth with his hand, trembling violently._

* * *

 _Thump. Thump. Thump. Swoosh._

The sound of the rubber ball being repeatedly dribbled across the floor of Teiko's third gymnasium resounded across the room, only stopping when the basketball player stopped running to throw it into the hoop. The friction between the shoes and the floor, the feeling of a basketball between his hands-

 _THUMP!_

The sound of the ball bouncing to the rim and to the board and to just make its way back to the floor without shooting; made the player wince, soon his legs gave up and he was kneeling on the floor, beads of sweat running down his neck as he breathed heavily. _No matter how many hours I practice, no matter how many times I shoot, not even one would go in..._ Shaking his head, he took a few deep breathes and stood up, retrieving the ball that rested by the wall soon after he took a shot. He spun on his heel and made his way towards the hoop at the other side of the room, only stopping when he heard the door slide open. _Is it time to go back already?_

"'Sup!" A not so familiar voice greeted, his eyes scanning around the barely used and the rumored haunted gym. The tealhead player held the orange coloured ball between his hands, staring at the male who just entered. It was rare for someone else to use the third gym, considering it was quite far from the school gate, and some students were just too scared to practice alone or in small groups during the night. It was isolated from the Basketball Club's First till Third Stringers, he had the whole gym completely for himself. The tealnette walked towards the other, about to greet him when he noticed him take a step back, looking slightly ( _absolutely_ ) terrified.

"Excuse me.." He started, extending his arm to tap his shoulder. The player immediately squatted down, his hands covering both sides of his head.

"I'm sorry for what I did, oh Gods and Goddesses! Dispel evil!" He screamed, his whole body trembling. It would be a lie if the so called 'ghost' denied that he didn't find the male cowering to be an amusing sight. He didn't bother portraying his amusement though, that would be terribly rude. _Wait, don't I know him?_

"Aomine-kun?"

Aomine stopped chanting prayers and enchantments and slowly turned around, finally noticing the boy who he didn't think he's ever seen nor noticed throughout the entire school year before.

 _Our first meeting after we enrolled into Teiko Middle School was on the first day of Autumn._

* * *

 _ **Ever since we met you brought out the bad in me,**_ **  
Every mirror that I shattered was a sad ending,** _ **  
As we kept fighting, you told me that I was changing,**_ **  
All the good things about us were slowly fading.**

* * *

"Oi, Tetsu!" Tetsuya heard a familiar voice call out to him, but before he could even move to glance who it was, he felt the weight over his shoulders shift, feeling something heavy lean on him. When he looked up, he saw him; the one that encouraged him to play Basketball. The one who taught him to never give up, to persevere his passion for the sport. The one who was his _everything._

"Where ya' goin'?" Daiki asked, and as a reply to the question, Tetsuya shook his head lightly. "Nowhere. I was just thinking about taking a walk before heading back home." Soon, they both heard light footsteps, quickly running towards them, getting louder and louder. When they looked over their shoulders, they saw a familiar girl rushing towards them.

"Aomine-kun!" She called, shouting exasperatedly as soon as she reached the two males. "You skipped class today, too! Do you really think you can pass the exams if you keep on acting like this?" She began nagging at the tanned male, reprimanding him firmly to keep his act straight, acting as if the other wasn't there. It was always like this, though Kuroko was quite used to it, actually.

"Tetsu-kun, help me! If he doesn't pass the exam next week, he won't be able to play in next month's game unless he gets an _above-average_ score!" And that's when realization shot through Aomine's mind. "Ha? What do you mean by that?"

The Aquarius released a sigh, pushing him away and standing up properly. "During our basketball game next month, retests will be held by then. If you fail the exam, you'll have to sit in for the retests and thus, taking you right away from playing until the examinations are over. Simply put, fail and you won't be playing basketball. Nijimura-san also said whoever fails cannot practice, either. You'll have to run around the field, until practice is over for one week." That's when the tanned male's face paled, much like a white sheet of paper.

"What?! Why didn't I know this?!" He screamed, making the innocent tealnette cover his ears so he wouldn't have to resort to buying hearing aids. He subconsciously jabbed Aomine's side to stop him from whining and yapping about how he badly needs help. "Maybe if you bothered to attend classes and assemblies, you would've known that, wouldn't you?"

Flinching by his reply, he felt something wrap around his arm and when he turned to see what it was, Momoi was clinging onto him. "That's right, Tetsu-kun~!"

 _I like being around them. But..._

* * *

"I don't understand, Tetsu. The more I try, the more it makes it boring." Tetsuya heard the unmotivated tone in his voice, and it made the phantom stop on his tracks. "That's ridiculous, Aomine-kun. You'll find someone soon. I won't say you definitely can do it, but if you quit, you'll definitely won't." Aomine's eyes widened hearing those words, making him turn to the smaller tealnette. "Seriously.." He dragged the other to an alley, leaning towards his ear.

"This is why I love you." The last sentence made the sapphire eyes widen in surprise, and before he knew it, he felt cold lips on his right cheek. "Thanks for always being here for me, Tetsu. I really appreciate it." The Ace wrapped his arms around the shorter male, head resting on his shoulder. "I don't know what I would do without you.."

"Aomine-kun is such an idiot." He blurted out. "I would say the same. If you didn't tell me to stay, I know I wouldn't be here, making all kinds of memories with you and the others." He smiled, and for the first time, Aomine blushed. Wow, teasing him was fun.

"Seriously Tetsu, you're gonna pay for that." With that said, the tealnette felt the same lips again, but on a different place.

They were on his _lips._

When they parted, Kuroko froze on his spot and Aomine let out a chuckle. "So cute.."

Soon after, Kuroko pushed him away and turned around, obviously embarrassed with the other's actions. "Idiot."

And they spent the rest of the evening teasing each other. 

* * *

_**So, I locked myself up in out dark, cold memories,**_  
 _ **As I replay our worst moments like a tragedy,**_  
 _ **I was a monster at night who kept coming back,**_  
 _ **But when the sun came out, I felt I was under attack.**_

* * *

"Hey, Tetsu. Remember that time when you said I'll find someone worth playing with? Someone worthy enough for me to call a rival?" He asked, and Kuroko nodded. "I do, why?" The taller male stopped and the shorter male looked at him, head lolled to the side.

"I can't find that person." The bluenette went straight to the point, making the Aquarius sigh. _This again?_ "You'll find some-" Before he could even finish talking, the other cut him off with a harsh and tired tone. "When?"

"I'm not sure, but you'll find him." Aomine began laughing, shaking his head. "You just don't get it, do you?" Turning to face his teammate, Kuroko's own sapphire eyes widened when he looked into the other's own eyes.

They were _dead._

It didn't have the colour nor the spark it usually did. It didn't have the shine that always reflected the light. His eyes were void of life, needless to say it made Kuroko's heart break. It was just... _empty._

"Don't say something that isn't going to happen, Tetsu. The only one who can beat me is me. We both know that." Turning around, he began walking, leaving the petite man all alone by the school gate, deserted. The said male looked down before turning around and walking away, taking a different path home as the lingering feeling of isolation began to grow in him. 

* * *

Kuroko felt useless. Aomine was there for him, cheering him up, putting a smile on his face, so why couldn't he do the same? He was frustrated by the fact that Teikō's ace was so stubborn. That, or the fact that his friend needs him and he doesn't know what to do. Ignoring him wouldn't do any good, but neither would trying to help him because he rejected all the needed help. _Maybe I'll just try one last time.._

After practice, Kuroko met with the other, saying that he'll be the one that Aomine was looking for. To his surprise, the latter laughed at him before standing up, pinning him on the lockers. The blue jewels looked bored into the other's, it made Kuroko feel weak and his legs trembled.

"You know Tetsu, you've been really annoying

lately." Tetsuya's eyes widened, not believing that the one that was saying this was Aomine. Was the one before him truly his best friend? The one who said ' _don't you ever give up_ '? The one who made his miserable days happy? Him? _Aomine Daiki?_

It was hard to believe that this was that _same_ boy.

"Remember the time I kissed you? That was so you would just shut up. You actually had the guts to use my words back at me? Pathetic. I never actually had feelings for you, stupid. That's disgusting." Hearing those words, Kuroko looked at the floor, subconsciously clenching both of his fists as tightly as he could. "I don't need you anymore. You're completely _worthless_ to me." With that said, his light took a step back, turned around and walked out of the locker room. And as the void in Tetsuya's heart continued to grow, his world turned dim and so did his hopes of finding the light in Aomine's eyes.

"He left..?" He placed a hand on his chest, clutching it. Looking down, Tetsuya felt as if he couldn't breathe. Those cruel words that his light- no, _former light_ said, was it true? Was that what he felt? Did he really have no feelings for him at all? "It hurts... Is — Is this what how pain feels like?"

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a blond boy that the heartbroken child knew all too well... "Kurokocchi.." 

* * *

**I wanna let you go but my heart stays the same,  
** _ **I think it's best to move on,**_ _ **  
I feel like letting go, let my heart drift away,**_ **  
I think it's best if we just go our separate ways..**

* * *

That's the end of the first chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Do leave your review!  
Credits to my saltmate for editing

Here's the link to the song: watch?v=S3qlD5mwkfQ

 _ **Until next time!**_


	2. A Fake Sunflower

**So the first chapter was released yesterday, and I think it was good enough that I got 3 reviews**

 **Skylar18: Bingo! Everyone's gonna hate me after this lololol**

 **xXxPhantomxXx: Please forgive me for this chapter orz**

 **VeronicaChase: Well I hope you like incest hihihi**

 **^^ I originally posted this story on Wattpad, so if you wanna read a longer (and unbeta) version, search it with the username Aina_Akabane.**

 **Well, that's enough of talking. Let's go to the story!**

* * *

 **This beautiful lie,  
My one last lie to you,  
Even if it hurts,  
I hide myself under mask to hide the truth..**

* * *

"Kurokocchi.."

The door creaked open, revealing a blond male standing behind the gap. You could see him from the small crack, his eyes filled with worry for the phantom player. Kuroko could only glance at his teammate before breathing in and out, composing himself. Trails of tears were only found on his cheeks, not a stray tear but evidence. Just the way he didn't want it to be. Yet there was no way he was going to let his teammate- or more specifically, _Kise_ \- see him in such a worthless state over a simple, but wretched break up. He wasn't that weak, he _couldn't_ let himself be that weak. "What is it, Kise-kun?" He asked, slowly sitting down. His voice was hoarse from crying, and he cursed himself with the way his voice cracked so simply; "Did you see?"

Flinching, Kise turned away before nodding sheepishly and hesitantly, his hand rubbing the back of his head. "I left my towel here and came to get it. I didn't know you and Aominecchi were... Y'know, fighting." Kuroko pursed his lips with the mention of the male's name, fluttering his eyes shut with a slight pained frown, feeling his heart clench by just hearing his name. He didn't know what should he feel. Aggravation? Sorrow? Self-pity? Helplessness? He didn't know, and more so, he didn't _want_ to know.

"More importantly- what about you, Kurokocchi?" Kise entered the room, about to console Tetsuya regarding his break up with his former light when he stopped his steps after the sixth man told him two words; "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Ryota only narrowed his eyes at Kuroko, disappointed and not trusting the latter's words of façade, taking a step closer towards the tealnette. "No one would be alright after a break up like that. I've been in enough relationships to know where this is going." Another step, closer and closer. Just close enough to see that Kuroko Tetsuya, was nowhere near fine. "I've been dumped by a bunch of girls before, so I know how you'd feel-"

"No, you wouldn't." Tetsuya firmly replied, his voice as cold as ice that even Kise stopped his own words from leaving his mouth.

In front of him wasn't the Kurokocchi that he always clung to. In front of him was someone he absolutely didn't know, someone broken and was building up walls. Someone who needed to become strong for himself. "You've been in a lot of relationships, right? Yes, you've dated before, but you have no idea how painful it feels to have someone you loved so much push you away when all you were trying to do was to help them. You have no idea how empty can one feel after being called 'worthless' by someone who you trusted. You have no idea how excruciating it is when someone who told you to aim for the top is the reason you fell rock bottom.

You have no idea, Kise-kun."

Kise was stupefied and seemingly speechless with the statement coming from the male before him. His Kurokocchi was emotionless, yes, but one would be able to see how happy he was whenever he was with his friends, or with his books, or anytime they'd notice and walk past him. The Kuroko Tetsuya he knew always had this faint happiness around him, and he was sure everyone could feel it, be aware of it. But now, seeing the third year student on the floor, leaning against the lockers, glaring daggers at him; Kise Ryota felt as if the room's temperature fell to 0 degrees. He knew he had to do something. Something, just anything.

He inhaled deeply, preparing himself, before walking towards Kuroko to only wrap his arms around the petite young man. Kuroko was about to yell at him, to yell at him to let go but Kise's hug just got tighter. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "Of course I wouldn't know how you feel. I wouldn't know how agonizing it must have felt; when the one you cherish the most hurts you. I'm sorry, Kurokocchi."

Kuroko slowly relaxed in his arms, burying his face in the other's shoulder. Slowly, his own shoulders began quivering as he let out a faint whimper. "Kise-kun is an idiot, that's why he doesn't know." He stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Usually, Kise would flinch and say "How cruel!" but at that single moment, he just smiled, placed a hand on the other's head and whispered, "I know."

Ryōta ran his fingers through the light blue strands, whispering soothing words to help him relax. His weeping being droned out, though the two didn't part just yet. Instead, Kuroko pulled him closer, loving the warmth Kise radiated with, while Kise was playing with the back of the Aquarius' hair, which the latter didn't mind. Instead, he felt safe in the blond's arms.

"I'm sorry to hear about you and Aominecchi, I thought he knew better." Kise clenched his fists, why did his Kurokocchi have to suffer this way? Before this, Aomine had always been with Kuroko, to the point he wouldn't even leave him alone! He was his light, for goodness sake! Kise had always wished he met Kuroko first so that he'd be his brilliant light. To be the one by Kuroko's side. Aomine had everything Kise wanted, everything Kise didn't have, so why did he throw it away? Everyone knew he was an idiot, but to the point of being this idiotic? To the extent of letting go of Kuroko? Unbelievable. Despicable.

"It's alright," Kuroko shook his head. "It was my fault for believing him. If I was a little more cautious, maybe then I wouldn't have been hurt. I guess this is what I get for being so gullible." He let out a hollow and dry laugh, averting his gaze to the side. _Just how stupid can you be, Tetsuya?_

"Kurokocchi," the model called, pulling the other close and lifting his chin. This, of course, caught him by surprise. Kise would usually hug him with this air of childishness and innocence, but for the first time, Kise looked different. "I wouldn't do anything like what Aominecchi did! I know you're hurting right now, and I know you probably don't want to be in a relationship, but how about I help you with your problem? I'll help you forget Aominecchi. All you'll be thinking about is me." He smiled brightly, determination reflecting in his eyes, his face moving close. "I'll make you feel loved twice as more than what Aominecchi did.." And with that, Kise leaned down and captured his lips with his own.

Kuroko didn't push him away. Instead, he kissed back. His arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer and deepening their kiss. _If it's just to help me forget about him, then I guess it's fine.._

* * *

" _Kurokocchi, let's go on a date!_ " The other said at the other line, and got a sigh in response. Kise had called him after dinner, and was distracting him from doing his homework. Kuroko didn't mind much since the next day was a Saturday, but nonetheless it was getting annoying.

"Kise-kun, we already went to one last week, remember?" The latter didn't mind much, he actually thought going out for a date was cute. Even so, sometimes he really just wanted some time alone. Kise had been insisting they go on a date weekly even though they see each other almost every day.

" _Pretty please~? I have something to show you, so please?_ " The Gemini tried again, and the tealnette swore he could feel the sparkles from the other line. There was a very short time where the two were silent, and the petite man broke it by releasing a sigh. "Fine. We'll go tomorrow at 4:30. I'll wait for you in the park."

" _Yay! Alright, I'll wait for you there. See you tomorrow, Kurokocchi!_ " Ending the call immediately, he leaned against the bed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Honestly, he was getting a headache from all the dates. Kise was just too enthusiastic.

"You really think you should go out with him? He confessed as soon as you broke up. I smell something fishy. Are you sure you should be with him?" A voice came from the door, and when he took a glace at the owner, he saw him. His twin, his other half. "Takumi?"

Walking inside the small room, the older twin sat down on the same bed, looking concerned for his younger brother. "You shouldn't trust someone too much, Tetsuya. You're going to get hurt, one way or another." He reminded, frowning at the younger one. _A warning_. "You know much I worry about you. You should be really careful. My worst fear is having to see you leave because someone decided to bullshit their way to your heart and end up throwing it away."

"Language, dear Brother." Tetsuya released a sigh, closing his eyes. "But," he continued, "I should at least give him a chance. Kise-kun isn't the type to cheat on other people. I know him personally and you know him from videos and stories. You shouldn't judge books by its covers." Suddenly, he found himself being pushed onto the bed, his arms above his head and he couldn't move.

"What do you know about it?! You just knew him for almost half a year! If you think that you're not going to get hurt just because of his shitty humble and kind personality, then you're wrong. Every truth is hidden behind a fake smile. Why can't you understand that, Tetsuya?!" Takumi was indeed furious, his words harsh and filled with aggravation. How couldn't he trust his own brother's words when he could trust someone he barely even knew?

"You're hurting me!" He yelled, and the grip over his wrists only grew tighter. The other that was hovering over him leaned down, eyeing the younger Kuroko. "If you're too blind to even see that you're being used, then I don't even know what to do." Takumi leaned away, letting him go and stood up, making his way towards the door. He stopped once he took a hold of the knob, looking over his shoulder to say something to his brother before closing the door. "The world isn't kind enough to give away happy endings."

Tetsuya stared at the door, now worried and anxious of what Takumi said, if it were to be true. What if he really was being used? What if Kise didn't mean anything? What if Kise was using him? 

* * *

_He's so late_ , thought a certain tealnette. He was waiting in the park for almost two hours. His so-called lover did say that he was going to be late, but this late? That's just ridiculous. Kise had a photoshoot before, but it was supposed to end at five fifteen. Tokyo frequently had traffic jams, but it would usually clear up fifteen to thirty minutes later.

Taking out his phone, he dialed the other's number, only to be linked back to Kise's voicemail. Giving up, he took his bag and started walking back home. It was a good thing that he was almost invisible, or else everyone would have suspected that he was stood up. He turned to an abandoned alley, since it was the fastest way to get back home when he was suddenly greeted by something- no, _someone_ , that immediately broke his heart.

 _Kise Ryōta was kissing Aomine Daiki._

"Kise-kun..?" He called, and the two turned towards the source of the voice. Tetsuya stood still, with his face indifferent and not showing a tinge of expression besides that, though he knew for himself his heart was only crumbling to pieces. "What are you doing here? You were the one who wanted to go on a date today. Why were you.. _kissing_ Aomine-kun?" Of all people, why _him_?

"Ah.." The blond turned towards the tealnette, walking towards him. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Kurokocchi, but I'm done." The sapphire eyes widened, and he only staggered back. "You're no fun to be with. It's not that I was playing you, though! It's just.. I don't think we're suited to be together anymore. Besides, you've forgotten about Aominecchi, right?"

 _You're wrong._

"But.. With _Aomine-kun_?" He asked, his face never faltering even for a second. He refused to look at the young man who used to be his light, his boyfriend, his best friend, his partner. _Past tense._ And if he chose to even take a glance, it'll only make him break even more.

 _I never got over him._

A sheepish laugh escaped the blond's lips, "Yeah.. I realised I liked him a few days ago. But.. That's fine, right?" Kise gave his usual smile, a hand ruffling Kuroko's blue locks. Taking a deep breath, Kuroko nodded. "Of course it's fine. I hope you two will be happy." _Happy that you broke me, I mean._ Spinning on his heel, his back turned to the pair, he walked away from them stoically but his own tears finally betrayed him.

 _I was just beginning to like you, Kise-kun._

But unknown to him, there was a certain greenette watching his every move ever since he got together with the Gemini. 

* * *

"How dumb of me. To think that someone like him wanted to be with someone like me." Tetsuya muttered to himself, hands gripping on his hair. He was currently in his apartment, alone. Crying wasn't his thing, but what would you do if you suddenly saw your boyfriend kiss your ex, and then break up with you, as if you two didn't have something?

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Tetsuya decided to ignore it, but since it kept ringing every thirty seconds, he snapped and unconsciously made his way to the front door. Glancing at the clock, he murmured something almost inaudible about how late it was.

"You know how impatient I am, Kuroko." The uninvited guest said, leaning against the door frame. "You look like you're having a hard time." _Well,obviously._ Kuroko had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes at the comment.

"Midorima-kun, what a surprise for you to suddenly come down here." _Not,_ he mentally said. The Cancer readjusted his glasses, brows furrowing as he looked at the other. "How unlikely of you to use such sarcasm."

Rolling his eyes, the tealnette opened the door wider, turning around. "Come in, I'll make you some tea." The other didn't argue, walking inside the place and making his way towards the living room. "Not much changed since the last time I came by." Which was about a year ago. Midorima had came to his apartment to teach Kuroko something he didn't understand in class. But let's get to the main part, shall we?

"What do you want, Midorima-kun? As you can see, I'm not in the most acceptable state at the moment." The other asked in a cold tone, placing two cups of tea on the glass table. He sat down on the sofa opposite of the other, taking his glass and sipping the hot liquid.

"I can see that. Breaking up with Kise like that.. You knew this was going to happen, and yet you still want to break yourself even more. Stop hurting yourself, it's not helping." The soon-to-be-doctor reminded, and that made the 'ghost' snap.

"What do you know about it? You, of all people, giving me advice on love? You hardly even show any feelings yourself! Don't talk as if you know me when you clearly don't."

" _'Don't talk as if you know me when you clearly don't.'_ That hurt, Kuroko." The tealnette was suddenly pinned on the couch, lips suddenly being occupied as the other smashed them together. Kuroko struggled but soon gave up, out of breath. "I've always liked you. I never knew why, it's just that being with you makes me feel different. I don't mind if I need to prove it.." He whispered, leaning close to plant another kiss on his lips.

Kuroko, on the other hand, was shocked. This person who he only admired as a friend, who always said A-blood types and B-blood types wouldn't get along, liked him? He was now torn between deciding what to do. Give him a chance or reject him. If he gives him a chance, there's a possibility that Kuroko might get hurt again. But if he rejects him, it could be a very wrong decision.

Pushing him away, knowing how the latter carved his name to Kuroko's mind to fit fate that would only leave fatal flaws, he wiped his lips with his hand before saying;

"Give me some time to think about it." 

* * *

**It's alright if you leave my side,  
I just want you to live your life,  
Oh I'm, I'm a beautiful,  
I'm a beautiful liar..**

* * *

 **I hate myself for making this chapter lololol  
[ Credits to my saltmate for editing ]  
**


	3. Incompatible Enough

_I love you._

Three words, one smile, and a naive boy. Tetsuya mentally sighed as he remembered the days when he felt so happy, blinded by that so-called happiness that made him think he couldn't feel any pain anymore, that he wouldn't feel the familiar clench in his chest anymore, that he wouldn't feel isolated and alone anymore, that he wouldn't have his heart broken anymore. Releasing another sigh, he continued walking aimlessly around the busy streets of Tokyo, isolating himself from the rest of the world. "Rui, let's go!" The Kuroko glanced to his side, finding a group of middle schoolers having fun at the usual store he and his teammates always went to. Well, used to. It felt nostalgic, and it made his heart ache. Deciding that it was enough staring, Tetsuya turned away and gripped on the straps of his school bag tightly, walking away in a much faster pace.

Faster and faster, until he realised he was running away from nothing. He stopped at a park, making his way to the playground and sitting down on one of the swings the city had provided for nearby children who wanted to play and have fun. _Funny_ , he thought _, I don't even remember when was the last time I had fun_. He stared at the ground, his eyes reflecting nothing but pure sadness. "It's over," he whispered.

 _Running through the court, the orange coloured ball went into his line of sight. In an instant, the tealhead merely tapped the ball with the tip of his fingers - though hard enough to make it turn at another direction - and passed it to his light; Aomine Daiki. Catching the ball, Aomine immediately made a dunk, making the opposing team stare at him in awe. The tealnette ran towards the other male, fist bumping him. "Nice pass," Aomine said. "Nice dunk," was Kuroko's reply._

He raised both of his hands, covering the lower portion of his face as his shoulders began shaking just slightly, enough to make it obvious that he was trying so hard not to cry. "It's.. It's all over.."

 _"Kurokocchi, so mean!" The blond whined, trying to hug a certain boy who was attached to the book he was currently reading. "You're noisy, Kise-kun." The latter commented, which made Kise feel offended. Bringing his knees to his chest, he buried his face in between them and began muttering something almost inaudible for who knows how long. But he was unaware that actually, Kuroko was trying to hide his laughter after seeing such reactions. He then leaned against the other's shoulder, closing both his book and his eyes. "Kise-kun is like a puppy; he needs constant attention and love," the Aquarius commented._

"Why?" He suddenly asked. Kuroko gripped the chains tightly, all of his frustration slowly turning to wet, salty tears and making their way down his pale cheeks. "What did I do wrong? All I wanted was — for us to be together, what was so wrong about that? Did I make a mistake along the way?" He began furiously wiping away the tears with his sleeves, at the same time trying to figure out just _what the hell_ was wrong with him.

"Tetsuya," a voice called. Raising his head, he saw the same ocean blue eyes staring right back at him. His twin stared at him with such sorry eyes, Tetsuya wanted nothing more than to scream his heart out. He wanted to push his brother away, he wanted to tell him to get lose. He wanted to release all of his frustration. "He hurt you, didn't he?" The elder asked, but the Teiko student didn't respond. Instead, he looked away and gripped on the swing's chains. That's all it took for Takumi to know he was right. Sighing, the elder brother made his way towards the latter and wiped the tears with his thumb, kissing his twin's forehead before pulling him into a tight embrace. "Everything is going to be alright, don't worry. As long as we're together," he smiled, "everything will be okay," Tetsuya ended the latter's sentence, as if in sync. "Let's go, the dance lessons are about to start," said the elder twin. Nodding, the younger stood up, making sure his face wasn't glazed of salty tears anymore.

* * *

 ** _I wanted to be the prince in our perfect fantasy,  
But the poison apples we shared locked me in eternity,  
After dark, it was chaos — I had a steel heart,  
I was a voodoo doll constantly getting ripped apart!_**

* * *

"Alright, take five!" Said the leader of the group, which was none other than Kuroko Takumi. He was currently in a dance studio with his four other members. Those who were the members with Takumi were Kuroko Tetsuya, Kazehaya Seiji, Kisaragi Yuki and Kiryū Shiro. It was definitely ironic that all of their surnames began with the letter "K".

Kazehaya Seiji. He is at the age of 17, being the eldest of the group. Seiji has blonde hair with matching topaz eyes. His mother works as a model while his father works as a movie director; Not only is he the eldest in the group, he is the eldest son in their family of five. He always takes care of his juniors, making him quite close with each and every one of them. The juniors often refer him as either _Sei-nii_ or _Sei okaa-san_ , since he was such a mother hen.

Kisaragi Yuki, age 16. Yuki has dark black hair, his bangs dyed to a slight crimson with matching dark brown eyes. His parents' occupation were as actors, though they usually executed their work outside of the country. Being an only child, he tries to have his group mates meet ever so often just so he could hang out with them, even if it meant deadly training from the Black Demon King — I mean, Takumi.

Kiryū Shiro, age 15, the same age as Tetsuya and Takumi. He has white, snowy hair and grey eyes. Although they are the same age, he's a few months younger, making him the youngest of the five. Even as the youngest, he preferred not making people do his work — probably to show he was responsible — unless it was necessary. He gives nicknames to all of the members, with an excuse that their names were too 'boring.'

Although the five of them has different personalities, they got along quite well. That is, after a few months of being with each other. From Tetsuya's point of view, Seiji was a kind older brother/mother — just like Takumi, Yuki was the brother with a foul mouth and Shiro was the youngest (and often spoiled) sibling of the bunch. But to him, they were his everything.

"Practice is hard as always," Yuki commented, taking the water bottle that was on the floor near the corner and drinking from it. "Sit down when you're drinking, Yuki." Seiji frowned, wiping his sweat with his towel. Yuki rolled his eyes in response, muttering a soft apology before walking towards the window, leaning against its frame. "The fact that we're only a few months from debuting is still unbelievable," He muttered, looking up and staring at the full moon. Seiji smiled at his words, walking towards him and leaning against the wall right next to where Yuki was standing. "It's exciting, isn't it? We've been here since we were kids and we're finally getting our debut."

"Hey Tsuya-kun," Shiro called Tetsuya, "when are you going to give the letter? The registration letter for the basketball team, I mean. Haruko-san told us to resign from our respective clubs 'cause the company will drop us out of our current school and enter us in a private idol school, right?" Haru-chan – or Haruko, – was their manager, and Tetsuya often saw her as a mom like Seiji, only more of a worrywart. The tealnette looked at him for a good few seconds before turning away, "After the Finals are over."

"And the Finals are in... two months, right?" Seiji asked, and Tetsuya nodded. Then his gaze fell back to the floor, the atmosphere in the room began to morph to an uncomfortable and bleak tension. "The basketball club just isn't the same anymore," the second youngest said before anyone even asked. "It's crumbling to bits, and that makes me quite sad," Kuroko murmured, his head hung low. Before he knew it, the four other members sat down on the bench beside him, their usual smile plastered on their faces.

"Don't worry," Seiji reassured him, a pat on his head.

"Everything is going to be fine," Yuki said, a pat on his back.

"Even if the whole world turns away," Shiro smiled, holding both of his hands.

"We'll always be here, beside you." Takumi ended it, as they all gave him their warmest smile. Kuroko couldn't help but smile back.

"I'm back with snacks!" The door suddenly opened, revealing their manager; Asahina Haruko. The manager was a woman in her late-twenties. She has beautiful brown hair with matching hazel eyes. She looked at her boys, the smile fading and was replaced with a worried expression. "Is something wrong? Tetsuya, are you alright? Are you sick? Did these brats hurt you?" Haruko immediately walked towards him, pushing the members away and holding the tealnette in her arms. She then wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. "Oh, my little Tetsuya needs love! Don't worry, mommy Haruko will take good care of you!"

"Oi, Haruko! You can't just come barge in and take away Tetsuya whenever you feel like it!" Yuki growled, pointing at the woman who was completely ignoring his words. "That's right, Haru-chan! Learn how to share!" Shiro agreed with the second eldest of the group, but was then silenced when Haruko glared at the two, "Shush."

"Yes ma'am."

Takumi and Seiji watched the scene in amusement, the studio was always so lively whenever everyone was there. The older twin then went to his younger brother, whispering in his ear, "Don't overthink about it, it's not good for you." He smiled, ruffled his hair and stood up properly, clapping his hands twice to get everyone's attention. "Shall we continue practicing?" The leader asks, and everyone nodded almost at the same time. "Okay, one last round!"

* * *

The Kuroko twins were currently in their family's limousine, having a nice long chat. "Aren't you coming home to the mansion?" Takumi asked, and the latter shook his head in response. "I'll still stay in the apartment until after the Finals. Besides, Mother and Father are still in Australia. They won't be back until next month." The younger replied, which made the other sigh. Honestly, he was worried about his younger brother living separately away from him, but Tetsuya already promised that he'd be alright, so... "Fine. But if anything happens, I'm going to drag you back home."

Arriving at his apartment, he got out of the limousine and walked upstairs, taking out the key and unlocking the door before entering the small apartment. Kuroko placed his school bag on the couch, walking to the kitchen to make himself supper. While waiting, he went to the living room, taking out his photo album. Opening it, he stared at the pictures in the album, memories of those times where he and his teammates were still together as a team began to resurface inside his confuzzled mind. "I wonder when was the last time I saw them smile..." He murmured, tears beginning to prickle by the corner of his eyes.

Suddenly, he smelled something burning. Tetsuya closed the album and walked towards the source of the smell, only to find that half his kitchen was caught on fire. He immediately ran to his room, trying to put all the items that he cherished more than his life inside a bag. He didn't care if he would be burning alive in the fire, if the things he loved was simply going to get burned, might as well get burned together.

Just when he was about to leave his room, he turned around, only to see the fire burning everything in contact, slowly making its way towards the bedroom. Tetsuya felt terrified — earlier, he was just laughing and dancing with his teammates and now he's probably about to die. If he died now, the others were absolutely going to hate him for it. He even promised Takumi he was going to be fine!

He began to scream for help, hugging the items he tried to save earlier closer to his body. But it was a futile attempt. Soon enough, the smoke got a bit too much for him and slowly making his vision and perspective of things, completely blurry and fading. "Someone, help me...!" He tried to yell, but it only came out as a whisper. Closing both of his eyes, he saw someone come in his room before he blacked out.

* * *

Opening his eyes, he found himself in a unfamiliar white room. He tried moving his arms and legs, wincing when he felt some kind of painful jolt that went through his whole figure. As painful as it was, Kuroko turned his head to the left, finding all sorts of unknown machinery. After putting the puzzle pieces together, he realized that he was in a hospital room. _I didn't die?_

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a certain green head. He squinted his eyes, trying to see clearly.

"Kuroko," the man called. Kuroko instantly recognised him from his voice. "Midorima-kun?" He asked. "Where am I? What happened?" He tried sitting down, only to have the bandaged fingers of the latter pushing him down gently to the bed further. "Lie down, you're still recovering."

"You're in my family's hospital. I was walking to your house to see if you were alright, and when I was in front of your door, there was something suspicious. The door was unlocked, and there was a very unpleasant smell coming from the inside. When I opened it, I found that the apartment was on fire. I was going to run down and call the firehouse when I saw your shoes. As a friend, I went inside and found you unconscious in your bedroom." Shintaro replied, readjusting his glasses.

Kuroko looked down, feeling guilty that he almost put his teammate in danger. "I'm sorry..." Was the only thing he could say.

Midorima sighed, placing a hand on the teal locks. "Don't be." Slowly, Kuroko looked up and straight into the emerald orbs before saying, "..My answer is yes. I will go out with you."

* * *

 **But like a devil — I chose sinful ways that were far from right,**  
 **I was a snake who wrapped around you way too tight,**  
 **Just call me beautiful killer, Hyde and Jekyll, a sinner,**  
 **It was my biggest error to stay with you — so let's end it.**

* * *

"Since your apartment was burned down, you're going to stay with me." Midorima said. The tealnette, who was reading a light novel stopped and looked at the other. "I'm fine, you don't have to worry about it. Besides, I can live somewhere else." Going back to the mansion was an option, but then he'd have to listen to Takumi's lecture about safety. He couldn't find a new apartment at this time. Yuki always asked them to come to his house, so Yuki it is.

"Where?" Shintaro asks, turning to look at the phantom man. "Where can you possibly stay at? Don't even think of lying to me, Kuroko. You live alone in that apartment. No relatives at all. Just shut up and do as I say," he mumbled the last part, avoiding eye contact.

"Midorima-kun, I can't-" Before he could say anything, his mouth was suddenly occupied. Before he realised it, the other was kissing him fully on the lips. Kuroko tried to push him away, only to get pushed on the hospital bed, the kiss deepening. Honestly, that was the first time he felt a kiss that was entirely _sickening_. He remembered one time during Christmas, he and Takumi were watching some chick flick movie. When the girlfriend started complaining about the boyfriend, he kissed her and Takumi let out a disgusted noise before switching the TV off and asking Tetsuya if they could do something else. When Kuroko asked why he turned the TV off, Takumi answered with, _"The boyfriend didn't want to listen to his girlfriend's complains about him. He kissed her, and she stopped. That wasn't love, he just wanted her to shut up."_

After a while, they both pulled away, in need of oxygen. The Cancer placed a hand on the other's cheek, caressing it. "You're going to stay with me and that's final." Kuroko didn't argue, even after that, he was trying to catch his breath. When he opened his eyes, Midorima had already left the room.

* * *

Entering the mansion owned by none other than the Midorima family, he stared at it in awe, everything in the house looked so beautiful. It wasn't as big as his own mansion — Oh no, he has a bigger one — but going to someone else's home always fascinated him somehow. Not like he was going to admit that.

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and follow me," the teen grunted, taking his boyfriend's wrist and dragging him to the guest room. "My room is just at the end of the hall. If you need anything, you know where to find me." He said before walking out of the room, closing the door with a soft 'click'.

Kuroko placed his things on the floor, walking around the huge room. "Even though my room in the mansion is a little bigger, it's not as beautiful as this.." He merely whispered, sitting down on the bed. Suddenly, his phone vibrated. Taking it out, he looked at the caller ID and picked it up.

"Hello?"

 _"Tetsuya? Are you okay? Where are you? Are you hurt?"_

"I'm fine, don't worry. I'm currently staying at Midorima-kun's house. I'll move back to our house as soon as I can."

 _"Alright. But we have practice tonight until eleven, can you go out? The schedule changed and our debut might be a little earlier than expected. But I think we're going to be fine, since we've been practicing our heads off."_

"Or maybe it's just because of your deadly training."

 _"What did you say?"_

"Nothing, nothing. Anyway, eight to eleven?"

 _"Yeah. See you there."_

As the call ended, Kuroko sighed. He glanced at the clock, 5 pm. Getting up, he took everything that he needed before walking towards his boyfriend's room. He knocked on the door, only entering when he heard an almost inaudible ' _come in_ '.

"What is it?" Midorima asked, his eyes glued on the laptop in front of him. "I need to go somewhere. I'll be back before midnight," was Kuroko's reply. He stopped typing and turned to the tealnette, his brows furrowed. "Why? Where are you going?"

"It's very important. I can't tell you, though," Kuroko said, then glanced to the side. Midorima stared at him for a few seconds, then turned back to his laptop. "Do as you please." And with that, Kuroko walked put of the room, wondering if he had somehow offended the greenhead male.

* * *

"Tetsuya, are you okay?" Takumi asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're paler than usual." He frowned, hands now on the both side of the younger's cheeks, cupping them and caressing them with this thumb. "Did he hurt you?"

Tetsuya hesitated to tell him, after all Midorima didn't actually harm him or anything. Rather, Kuroko felt a little bit distant with the other and even though they were already somehow intimate to each other to the point of kissing, though Kuroko never had a say in it. "No, not really."

Sensing the tealnette needed help, Yuki decided to speak up, "You can stay at my place if you want, Tetsuya. I don't mind having company. Actually, I want to have company." He offered. "I'll just stay there for a couple more days and I'll stay with you then. Is that fine, Takumi?" Kuroko asked, looking back at at he elder. "Sure, I've got no problem with it. Yuki is lonely, after all." was Takumi's reply.

"Don't you think it's weird?" Shiro asked. "Tsuya-chan gets together with those miracles and they toy with him and his emotions. After a while, they toss him away like he's nothing. And then another Miracle comes and the cycle begins again." Kuroko only flinched in realisation.

Seiji frowned at the youngest's words, he was right. None of the Miracles actually showed Kuroko they wanted a long-term relationship. Rather, it seemed like they wanted to toy with the phantom and see how far they could break him. Noticing that the bluenette had gotten quiet, he then saw Kuroko was shaking. Mom side triggers, he immediately wrapped his arms around the other, whispering soothing words as he ran his fingers through the teal strands. "Stop talking, Shiro. You're going to make him have another anxiety attack."

"You're unbelievable," Seiji murmured.

"Idiot," Yuki blurted out.

"Your menu has been tripled. Go practice and make sure you master all six songs," Takumi said.

"But I'm only performing two songs for the debut concert!" Shiro tried to argue, but decided to do it anyway. Probably since the other group mates were sending him death glares.

* * *

It was almost a quarter to midnight when he came back. He walked to his room, yawning as today's practice was a lot harder than the previous ones. Right now, he just wanted to go to his room and sleep, sleep and sleep. He didn't even realise where he was going until he bumped into someone. "Ah, I apologise," He gave a short bow before walking away, rubbing both of his eyes.

"Wait," the unnamed man called, and Kuroko did and turned around. "Are you Kuroko Tetsuya?" Nodding, Kuroko turned to face the man. "I'm Midorima Kento, Shintaro's father." Figures. "I know about your relationship with Shintaro," the tealnette stiffened. "To be honest, I didn't think he would date a boy." Kuroko knew what was going to happen next. "Let me get straight to the point; I want you to leave him alone." Wow, rude.

Kuroko faced him, looking straight into his eyes, staying silent for a few minutes. "I understand that you don't approve of us, Midorima-san. But with all due respect, I wish for those words to come from Midorima-kun himself. If I leave without telling him why, that would be selfish of me." Kento was beet red, how dare this commoner refuse to do what he says.

"However," Kuroko added, "if you are uncomfortable with me staying here, then I will leave. I have a friend who offered me to stay with him, so I will take my leave now." He bowed before leaving the elder male, making his way to the guest room.

When he did open the door, he saw Midorima at the study table. "Midorima-kun? Why are you here?" He asks, but Midorima didn't answer. Kuroko then noticed that Midorima was holding a photo, and then he recognised the photo as the one he took with Aomine when they were still in their first years.

Midorima then suddenly pulled out a lighter and burn the picture, Kuroko standing there for a few seconds, trying to process _what the fuck_ he was doing. When he did, he flipped shit. Tetsuya almost immediately ran towards the greennette and took the photo away, holding it tightly in his hands. It was the only reminder that him and Aomine were once _friends_ , and now, it's _gone_.

"How could you?" His voice barely came out as a whisper, but it was loud enough for the whole room to hear. "How could you?!" He faced the greenhead male, anger visible in his blue eyes. "Why, you ask?" Shintaro repositioned his glasses, "Because it's useless to keep things like that." That was the last straw. He raised his hand and immediately slapped the latter, not even thinking twice about it.

"Then I guess it's useless to keep this relationship when you think you can do things like this and get away with it." He replied, took his bag and walked out of the room. He met Kento downstairs, but refused to look at him and made his way out and to Yuki's house. When he was far enough, he felt his cheeks get wet and only then realised that he was crying.

 _Stupid me._

* * *

 _ **I won't linger around you like a ghost,**  
 **This is the real me that I show to you, so go!**_

* * *

 **Well there you have it. Homophobic dad and stupid-ass fuckboii. sighs.  
Special thanks to my saltmate for editing 3 iwtepcbwy  
**


	4. Bitter Truth

Hearing a knock on the door, Yuki rose from his seat and walked towards the only entrance to his house, mumbling about how late it was. He had just came back from practice, and when he did, he found out that his parents — who were supposed to come back for his birthday — had to stay in Canada for a few more months due to work. He hasn't seen them for five months, his house's occupants were only him and a few maids and butlers they hired. Although he was quite close with most of them, it still didn't change the fact that his parents were going to miss his birthday for the _fourth_ year in a row. To summarise, he wasn't in a good mood.

Opening the door, he found a crying Tetsuya in front of him. His jaw almost dropped as the younger boy let go of his things and leaned towards the elder male, gripping his shirt tightly. "Yuki-kun, what did I do wrong?" He whimpered, his voice hoarse from crying since god knows how long. Yuki could only wrap his arms around the petite boy, pulling him into a tight embrace and whispering reassuring words in his ear. "It's freezing outside, let's get you inside. I'll ask Shigure to make some tea." Kuroko didn't answer.

He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the second youngest member of the group. Tetsuya rarely showed any emotions, let alone let anyone see him so heartbroken. Yuki knew exactly why the latter didn't let his emotions out; he knew how to hide them _too_ well because of his family. It wasn't just him, it was Takumi as well. The twins were a master at hiding their true feelings, something that he always listed it under the _troublesome_ category. Shaking his head, not wanting to even _think_ about the wretched Kuroko family, he held the bluenette in his arms and ushered him inside.

* * *

Tetsuya is a precious child. Although he came from a rich environment, he didn't gloat, he didn't stood out, he wasn't even visible sometimes. He was a silent boy, he was always left behind, always forgotten by his friends and sometimes even by his teachers. The only teacher that remembered him was his Japanese Literature teacher, due to the fact that Tetsuya was the best out of the best in his class.

He was the complete opposite of his brother.

Takumi, on the other hand, was absolutely stunning. In that school, he was the best out of the best in _all_ of his classes, a complete teacher's pet. He was popular in and out of class; the whole school knows his name. He was also the student council president. He was just.. _perfect_. The two didn't attend the same school, though; Tetsuya attended Teiko Middle School whilst Takumi attended Tokyo Private School.

Although they were very different, they were also very alike. There's no need to talk about their looks – they're twins for goodness sake. Their personality, for instance; both of them are quiet and organised. Both of them look out for each other and scold the latter whenever the former did something wrong.

He remembered the first time they met; oh, how he disliked the memory. He was scouted when he was five by someone who introduced themselves as the agency's A&R, and was an idol in training for a few years until he was called to the President's room. Yuki wasn't that good, but he always landed in the top 20 out of 100 students.

When he entered the room, he found a few more kids that he recognised were also idols in training, and there were the twins. The two brothers would always be the first and second best students, everyone liked them except the ones who despised people who were better than them. Yuki remembered some students bad-mouthed about the twins. The Kuroko family is a well-known family in the Entertainment Industry, and there were rumours going around about the family bribing the teachers to make sure the twins would always land first and second place. At some point, Yuki believed them – but stopped when he saw with his own eyes how _talented_ the siblings were.

When the President announced that he was going to form a group with the four students — which consisted of Seiji, the so-called 'mom friend', Shiro, the baby and the demon twins, — Yuki felt like he wanted to scream. No, not because of happiness; but because he saw Takumi snickering from the corner of his eye. He was about to growl at the other, but was stopped when the latter's face made contact with his twin's book. "Stop laughing, you disgrace of a brother." This time, it was Yuki's time to snicker.

Yuki and Tetsuya got along fairly quickly due to them sharing common interests, but him and Takumi took a longer time to get used with each other's presence. Truthfully, Takumi was quite annoying at first. Whenever the latter wanted to hang out with Tetsuya, his bloody brother would get in-between them and say that 'he didn't want to be left out'. Warming up to Seiji wasn't that difficult since they were acquainted even before they were scouted. Shiro.. Well, it took him a while to get used to his pathetic cries which adults found 'adorable'. Eventually, Yuki realised why Takumi was _so_ overly protective of his younger brother; when their puppy — a small husky they found on the way back from piano lessons, per Takumi — who Tetsuya loved deeply died from getting run over by a car, Tetsuya broke.

Just like glass, Tetsuya was fragile. When they saw the poor pup whimpering in pain, Tetsuya was a crying mess. He kept asking the dog to not go, to stay at least for a little while longer. The pained face he had on was something Yuki prayed he'd never see again. It was painful seeing his friend like that. The dog died there; the animal ambulance that Takumi probably called was a second too late. That night, in their dorm, Yuki couldn't sleep at all as he heard Tetsuya's soft sobs. In the end, he slept together with the latter, and met with a furious Takumi the next morning who kept going on and on about how he took "Tetsuya's purity" along with some other rubbish he didn't actually care about, much less remember it.

Right now at this very moment, Tetsuya looked just as broken as he was a few years ago. Yuki guessed the boy who he recently hooked up with was just as a bastard as the first and second, and was trying so hard to not beat the shit out of those so-called Miracles. He took his phone and called the other members, telling them about his situation. After twenty minutes or so, a limousine stopped in front of his house and Yuki guessed that it was the others; he was right.

The first person who barged in his house without even knocking was Takumi. Normally, the only child would sneer, telling them how it was _rude_ and that it wasn't even their house – but this was different; he didn't have any rights to say anything. Not now, not when Tetsuya was so broken, not when the strongest person he knows is at his weakest, not when he was about to reach his breaking point.

 _Not now._

"Tetsuya," Takumi gently called, slowly walked towards his younger twin – kneeling down and cupping both of his cheeks with his hands. He wrapped his arms around him, letting his younger brother let out all the pent up frustration he had build up inside of him for weeks. Takumi felt himself shaking; he couldn't take it, to break his twin to this point? To see him in a crying mess? He had _enough_.

Before he opened his mouth to say anything, Seiji tapped on his shoulder and shook his head. The leader of the group immediately knew what he was going to say; _I know you're angry, — I am too — but this isn't the time to let your emotions take over. Tetsuya needs you, give him that._

Later, Tetsuya fell asleep and the group stayed at Yuki's house for the night.

* * *

 _ **This** **beautiful** **lie** **,**  
 **My** **one** **last** **lie** **to** **you** **,**  
 **Even** **if** **it** **hurts** **,**  
 **I** **hide** **myself** **under** **a** **mask** **to** **hide** **the** **truth** **.**_

* * *

The next day after school, the tealnette had to stay back because of the usual basketball practice. Honestly, without Aomine and/or Kise to pass to, he had no reason to go. He didn't have a partner to pass to, and since Akashi literally _forbade_ him to practice dribbling and/or shooting, there was really nothing he could do other than stamina building practice – and there was no way in Hell he's going through _that_.

Kuroko sat down on the floor, his back leaning against the wall of the first gymnasium. He looked a bit out of it, eyes staring at the orange ball that rested between the palm of his hands, memories of playing together with Aomine and Kise flashed in his head, the time when he passed the ball to the ganguro, then watch in awe as he dunked the ball in one go. Or the time when he passed the ball and he heard a squeaky "Thanks, Kurokocchi!" before hearing the ball hit the rim of the hoop and going in- Kuroko shook his head, _No, this isn't the time to think about them. Tetsuya, just stop it._

Meanwhile, the Center of the Teiko basketball team sat on the bench, licking the lollipop he had bought from the school's convenience store earlier whilst looking around the first gym; his gaze landed on the bluenette whose head hung low and a basketball was tightly gripped between his two palms. He got up and walked towards the Phantom Sixth Man, stopping in front of him. "Kuro-chin~" He sing-sang, crouching down in front of the boy.

Kuroko, who was still in his dilemma, jolted just slightly as he heard the nickname. He slowly lifted his head, staring at the teen who was hovering over him. "Ah, I didn't see you there, Murasakibara-kun," He tilted his head down slightly and apologetically. "Is there something you need?"

Murasakibara looked at his teammate, knelt down and slapped the ball out of the tealnette's hands — as if it was a steal — and pulled (dragged) him out of the gym. Kuroko could only stare at the taller figure in front of him, curious to why he even did those things. After all, Murasakibara was the last person he expected to do something so suddenly. But then, even if he resisted, there was no way he could away from the tight grip on his wrist.

After almost a five minute walk, they arrived at the third gym. The taller teen pulled the other inside, leaning against the wall as he hugged Kuroko tightly. The tealnette was about to ask Murasakibara what was wrong, but.. "Someone made Kuro-chin sad." Atsushi answered the unspoken question, running a hand through the blue locks.

"Kuro-chin's eyes looks dull as of late. Usually, they'd have the spark that would motivate anyone who looks into them – but now, they look different. It's like.. they have a look of longing of some sort." Murasakibara commented, though he wasn't even sure if he even managed to voice his thoughts correctly. Then, he let go of the bluenette and handed him a lollipop. "It's vanilla. You like vanilla sweets, right?"

Kuroko nodded as a response and unwrapped the sweet, closing his eyes as he licked it. "..Thank you," he murmured, looking to the side. Murasakibara hummed and ruffled his head, though his hand was slapped away by the smaller teen. "We might not agree on some things, but I like Kuro-chin; and I'll crush anyone who makes Kuro-chin sad."

For once, Kuroko was grateful he came to practice that day.

* * *

The two ended up staying there chit-chatting until practice ended. They did practice a little, but that was something that wasn't worth mentioning about. Kuroko had learned things that he didn't know about Murasakibara; like how he was the youngest child in his family and yet the tallest, how he was actually good in making pastry rather than cooking and a lot more. Murasakibara on the other hand, found out that Kuroko actually had a twin and used to have a dog, and his favourite subject was actually Music, not Literature. "Then why didn't you join the Orchestra Club or the Music Club?" Murasakibara had questioned him. "Well, I made a promise with someone. A promise we swore we would fulfill," the boy answered.

The two went back home together but parted ways soon after, Murasakibara saying he wanted to stop by the convenience store on the way back home. When Kuroko was sure no one was watching him, he made a quick call for his driver to come and get him. During the whole ride home, he wondered if Takumi was still bothered because of yesterday. They didn't speak much before they went to school since all of them needed to get ready.

Staring outside the window, a sigh escaped his lips. Takumi was right, dating the Miracles was a wrong idea. His older brother always had this kind of hatred towards his light ― well, former light ― before though it wasn't as big compared to his dislike to the blond model. _I have to apologise to Takumi when I get back._

After a fifteen minute drive, he arrived at the estate. Kuroko thanked the driver and went inside, his arrival welcomed by his personal butler; Aki. "You've finally come home, young master."

"Please don't make it sound like I left for a year without any notice, Aki. And cut the 'young master' nonsense, we've been friends since we were kids and hearing you call me young master sends a shiver down my spine," Tetsuya frowned, the man in his early twenties laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll stop. Your brother is upstairs drowning himself with work again, by the way."

"That good for nothing.." Tetsuya sighed, taking off his blazer and handing it to Aki along with his school bag. He made his way to his brother's bedroom, opening the door without even bother to knock. "Hey," he called, "are you really that stupid to drown yourself in that rubbish?"

Takumi was silent as he looked into the documents in his hand. "Tetsuya, be a dear and help me with this _rubbish_ , then. Our lovely _father_ wants me to send these via email by tomorrow afternoon. I'll have to be his proxy for the red carpet next week, so I don't have too much time in my hands to play around."

"Don't we have practice tomorrow?" The younger Kuroko frowned; well, his father had some loose screws. "Alright, I'll help. What do I need to do?" Takumi began to sort out the documents and handed them to Tetsuya, and the phantom turned to do it in his room. Opening the door, he stopped his tracks before calling his brother's name. "Takumi?"

"Yes?" The twin stopped typing and took off his glasses, turning to the door. "Tetsuya?"

"Thank you, for letting me help you. And I'm sorry for not listening to your advises."

Takumi sat there stunned; did Tetsuya literally _thanked_ him? Before he could utter a reply, the younger brother had bid him goodnight and left the bedroom.

* * *

 ** _It's_** **_alright_** **_if_** **_you_** **_leave_** **_my_** **_side_** ** _,_**  
 ** _I just_** ** _want_** **_you_** **_to_** **_live_** **_your_** **_life_** ** _,_**  
 ** _Oh_** **_I'm_** ** _,_**  
 ** _I'm_** ** _a_** ** _beautiful_** ** _,_** ** _I'm_** ** _a_** ** _beautiful_** **_liar_** ** _.._**

* * *

As days passed, Kuroko became busier and busier until he didn't have time for hangouts anymore. With his schedule packed, he didn't even have time to think about anything else. His parents were coming back from Australia in two more weeks, his debut as an idol was right after the Winter Cup, and the Winter Cup was six weeks away. Of course, he had severed ties with Aomine, Kise and Midorima; using his misdirection to run away from them. _A coward_ , he knew. But since they didn't need him, then he didn't need them.

He had been practicing with the other members of the basketball club just for fun, although he didn't feel the same excitement he used to feel whenever he practiced with the Generation of Miracles. But since he didn't want Akashi to say that he was slaking off or anything, he had to accept it.

He was currently taking a break from practice, air he desperately needed rushing in and out of his lungs. He noticed Murasakibara was just sitting on the benches and was about to ask him to join them when the titan suddenly got up and left the gym. Kuroko assumed he wanted to buy more snacks, so he decided to leave him be and just ask him later when he comes back.

He didn't.

* * *

After a few days, the two started to get.. distant. Every time Kuroko tried to talk to him, Murasakibara would just shrug it off and walk away. He wondered if he did anything wrong, so he asked someone who he really could trust; Momoi Satsuki. Momoi was the manager of the team, so of course she'd know something like this, right?

"Eh, about Mukkun?" The manager turned her head from the papers she was reading, now looking straight into the ocean blue eyes she came to adore since their first meeting. "Yes, he's not acting himself lately. Do you know why?" Kuroko asked, and the girl frowned, crossing her arms to think of anything that might have triggered him to skipping practice. "I'm not sure myself, Tetsu-kun, but.. He's moving to Akita after school ends, and.." She turned away, hesitating to say it; "He told Akashi-kun that he was going to stop coming to practices because of Aomine-kun – Tetsu-kun, are you alright?"

Tetsuya remained unmoved as he stared at the floor, the words from the girl replaying in his head again and again.

Moving? Akita? Stop coming to practice?

 _Why_ _?_

He thanked the manager and ran to the first place he thought where the basketball player would be; the convenience store. It was the store they all used to go as a team, where Kuroko met Momoi, where they celebrated Kise getting into the first string. As soon as he arrived, he found the other coming out of the store, a box of Maiubo in his hands.

"Why?" He asked. "Why didn't you tell me? Aren't we friends?" Kuroko was now on the verge of crying. Everyone was leaving. His friends, his family,

 _Everyone._

"Because it wasn't important." Was Atsushi's reply. "It's not like we're never going to meet again. We'll meet again next year in the Inter High and Winter Cup." He said, opening the box and stuffing the maiubo inside his mouth.

"But I'm not-" he stopped talking, taking a few steps back. Hot tears were now falling down his cheeks. He felt dizzy. His chest was hurting him. He couldn't breathe right. His heart began to throb, it hurt him so much to the point he fell to his knees.

 _You're not important._

 _Everyone abandoned you._

 _No one will be there for you._

 _You will always be alone._

 _Always_.

Just before he blacked out, he heard someone calling him from the behind. He knew it wasn't Murasakibara, because he was in front of him and

Was

Walking

Away..?

* * *

 ** _I think it's time for me to give my heart to you,  
The fact that we loved is still beautiful.  
_**


	5. The Emperor's Mistake

_"Hey, don't go near that kid!"_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Don't you know? That kid; Kuroko Tetsuya, is just like a ghost! No one likes him. He's so weird!"_

 _I was always alone. I didn't have any friends. Everyone distanced themselves away from me, saying that I was a ghost. Was I really that invisible? I'm human like them too.._

 _So why?_

* * *

Waking up from his slumber, he stared at the ceiling for two solid minutes before realising he was on his bed. After recollecting whatever memory he forgot, he almost immediately sat up; a loud groan escaped his lips as he did when a painful jolt went through his entire body. _When did I.._ He furrowed his brows, a hand making its way to rest on his forehead, rubbing it in a circular motion.

"Tsuya-chan!" Shiro's voice echoed in his ears, and the said teen visibly winced as his voice _too_ loud. A pair of arms was suddenly wrapped around his neck; the youngest member in his group tightly embracing him. "Shiro..kun?" He called, narrowing his eyes at the silverette. "You-You're okay.." He hiccupped, his hug getting slightly tighter as he buried his face in his shoulder. "What do you mean I'm okay? What happened?" Everything felt so blurry to him- he didn't know, he couldn't remember. Shiro didn't answer and began to sob, apologising dozens of times when Kuroko didn't even know the reason _why_.

"Shiro," This time, it was Seiji. Tetsuya turned his head to the side and finally noticed that the whole group was in his room, all looking extremely worried. He frowned and looked at his twin who was still sitting on the couch with wide eyes. When he realised that the younger twin was looking at him, Takumi turned and looked away, his lips pressed in a thin line. Yuki, who noticed the two, decided to answer Tetsuya's unspoken question.

"You had another attack," the tealnette's eyes widened, "the doctor said that you shouldn't push yourself too hard. One more attack and you'll end up staying in the hospital again." He stressed the last word, his eyes narrowing at the teen. "You made us worried sick." Yuki walked towards him and placed his hand on the blue locks, ruffling them until it was a complete mess; not like it wasn't in the first place. "Don't scare us like that," he murmured, leaning down to place a kiss on his forehead; his way of telling it was going to be fine.

Kuroko exhaled deeply, closing his eyes as he took in the new information. "I'm so sorry," His words were barely a whisper, but it was loud enough for the four boys to hear as it resounded around the quiet room. Seiji got up and walked towards the bluenette, sitting on the bed and wrapping his arms around the other once Shiro let him go. "Don't worry about it," he reassured, "it's not your fault."

* * *

After getting a lecture from the two - three, if you include Haruko - mothers, and frequent visits to the doctor, Kuroko was - finally - able to go back to school. The male was now walking towards his middle school, a book in his hands. The book, in fact, contained the songs he planned to sing during his groups' debut concert. He was humming the melody softly, trying to remember the lyrics he had written himself.

" _This person trapped forever seems to be more like me now_ " He sang in a soft voice, not noticing a certain redhead peeking at the book from his shoulder. "Kuroko, what's that?" He jumped and turned around, sighing when he noticed it was just his basketball captain. "Akashi-kun, that wasn't funny." He frowned, and the redhead let out a chuckle. "Sorry, sorry. But really, what was that?" He asked again, walking towards the shadow. He got a sigh as a response. "It was nothing." He replied, hastily stuffing the book back in his bag.

"You have a beautiful voice, Kuroko. I wouldn't be surprised if you suddenly become a singer." A blush crept to his cheeks, and his heart was beating a little too fast; both from embarrassment and the thought of Akashi actually finding out he is going to become a singer. "Stop talking nonsense, Akashi-kun." Kuroko argued, turning his head away. Akashi went near him with a sly smirk and whispered in his ear suddenly, "But what if I'm not?"

The tealnette turned to him with a questioning look. "I mean, you always surprise me; ever since we met during that autumn day. You were the first person who managed to surprise me again and again, Kuroko." With his oh-so-prince-charming smile, Seijuurou gave his comment. The tealnette narrowed his eyes at the other, just what was Akashi planning? They rarely interact with each other outside of basketball, so why now? "We're going to be late for school. Shall we go now?"

With another suspicious glance to the redhead, Kuroko followed him from behind; the questions still lingering at the back of his head.

* * *

Since then, the two slowly became the best of friends and the troubles Kuroko had was long forgotten. Surprisingly, Akashi had brought up the phantom's (past) relationships with the other Miracles one day but told him that he'd help him get over them. "We don't share the same feelings, we're not the same person; so I don't know how you actually feel at this moment. Heartbroken? Outraged? Cheated on? Hurt?

I don't know. Telling you to forget about them is wrong; I don't know what you've been through, nor do I know what memories you had with them. But I promise that everything you went through has built the you now." The redhead placed his hand over the other, intertwining their fingers together. Kuroko was silent the whole time, though a blush crept to his cheeks when Akashi suddenly held his hand. He instinctively pulled his hand away, surprising the other. Akashi closed his eyes, and continued his pep talk.

"Do you know why I told you to not practice shooting or dribbling?" The soon-to-be-idol shook his head. "You're not a light, Kuroko; You're a shadow. When the light is stronger, the shadow grows darker. Without a light, a shadow cannot be produced. However, when there is no light at all, when there is only darkness; the Moon becomes the one that shines.

I understand that losing Aomine hurt you, but remember that even when you lose your light, it only means that you're one with the darkness. And when that happens, a true light will come up and become the light that guides you." Akashi ended his speech after that and looked at the shadow who was looking back at him with a questioning look. He raised a hand and placed it on his head, patting and smiling at the tealnette. "It's okay if you don't understand it now. You'll understand it sooner or later. Now, break time is about to end. Shall we go?"

* * *

Practice was finally over and Kuroko was dead tired. However, he couldn't go back to his house yet; he needed to go to the private school where the other band members were supposed to wait for him because of some "idol business", as per Haruko. It was already late in the evening and he had school tomorrow. He need to shower fast and get ready; Takumi had messaged him that Seiji was the one who'll fetch him and he didn't want the high school student to wait any longer.

"So you're with Akashi now, huh?" Aomine came up to him after practice suddenly, taking Kuroko completely off guard. "You really are something, Tetsu." The way his nickname rolled off the other's tongue made him cringe in disgust. Of all times, why now? "I can say the same to you, too. Taking someone else's boyfriend; and you said you wouldn't stoop down to Haizaki's level." The way Kuroko retorted back obviously hurt Aomine's pride, but he wasn't going to let this guy get away with it.

"What about you? After we broke up, you suddenly hooked up with Kise. What, did you miss having a dick inside you?" This time, Kuroko turned to look at him. Yes, he was a virgin and the two never had sex, but if he was going that way.. "Maybe I did. But if I were to compare, Kise-kun gives better kisses than you, and was a thousand time better than you ever could. You should learn from him, Aomine-kun." The latter narrowed his eyes at the shadow and growled at the insult. "Why the fuck would I need to learn from a bastard like him who hogs chicks all the time?" Did the two break up? Though in all honestly, Tetsuya didn't want to deal with him nor did he give two shits about their current relationship. Not now, not ever. "First of all, you suck. Second of all, don't insult him like that; at least he gets girls, not like you."

And the next thing he knew he was slammed against the wall, the other gripping his school uniform collar. "You got really annoying in just three months, huh?" Daiki's voice resounded around the quiet locker room, his eyes narrowing at the tealnette. "As if you're any better," the latter countered, slapping the hand away and walking towards the door. "Running away?" The power forward growled. "No," Tetsuya responded, "just distancing myself from a disgusting being as yourself."

Kuroko exited the locker room and made his way to the school's back entrance, spotting a limousine and Seiji waiting for him there. "Geez, can't you use something less flashy?" The tealnette complained at the elder, frowning as he got inside the vehicle. "Sorry, your brother was complaining about you staying here so late in the evening and asked me to fetch you. Didn't have any other car available." Kuroko sighed, shaking his head as he did. "Rich people," he muttered. "Like you're the one to talk." Seiji chuckled.

Once they reached to Seirin Private High, the two got out of the limousine and went inside. "So this is the private school Haruko-san was talking about?" Seiji crossed his arms, looking around the place. Indeed, there were some seniors who the two recognised as the children who previously studied in the same music agency as them. "It has four gyms, one swimming pool and two tennis courts for sports and exercise, two dance studios and four music rooms for each year, and two libraries. I'll say, Seirin Private High is quite the school when it just opened this year." Kuroko commented, taking out his phone that vibrated, indicating he just received a message. "Ah, Takumi and the others are with the headmaster in Music Room 3. They're having a recording."

"Right now? The headmaster sure wants to know how talented his students are." Seiji shrugged. "Well, let's go then. On the way, you can tell me this friend of yours. Akashi Seijuurou, the heir to the Akashi Conglomerate, right?" Of course, Kuroko was surprised to hear it from Seiji; no one in the group - excluding Takumi - knows that he and Akashi were friends. "As usual, your mom instincts are terrifying."

When they reached the Music Room, Takumi was currently singing and was too into it that he didn't even realise the two had just entered the room. The music room was divided into two by a glass wall; one side for recording while the other side was for the technical things Kuroko didn't really know much about. "Ah, Sei-nii and Tsuya-chan, you're here." Shiro called them over to sit beside him. "Only Yukki and Taku-chan finished the recording. I'm up next, then you two can choose who goes first." The two teens nodded at the youngest words, and Kuroko asked where was Yuki. "Yukki went to the restroom after he finished."

At that time, Takumi finished and the headmaster clapped his hands, nodding. "Great, as expected from the leader. Which position are you in again?" Takumi gracefully accepted the bottle of water he was offered to and drank the water before replying, "I'm the rapper." The headmaster - whose name was Shin - nodded.

"Well, it's my turn." Shiro stood up and went to the other side of the room, while Takumi took his place and sat beside Tetsuya. "You okay?" Takumi slumped back and rested his head on his twin's shoulder. "I'm tired, Tetsuya. Our good-for-nothing father just sent me another pile of work and I need to finish it by the day after tomorrow. And on Saturday, I need to be his proxy for an event right after our dance lessons. I'm gonna die, Tetsuya."

"You're exaggerating, Takumi." He sighed, "He told me to follow you, and when you go to that event on Saturday, I have to be his proxy for a meeting." Takumi's eyes widened and he sat up, looking into his brother's eyes. "What?" Tetsuya was caught completely off guard; Takumi looked furious. "Didn't I tell him to back the fuck up?"

"Calm down, Takumi." Tetsuya scolded, hitting his head. "It's just a meeting, I can handle that much." Seiji stared at them from the corner of his eyes, sympathy evident in them. Being in the Kuroko family wasn't a blessing- it was a curse. Every single person in the entertainment industry knew that.

After a while, Shiro finished and Tetsuya decided to go next. "Great! I want to see how good you are compared to your brother." With a nod, Tetsuya went inside and took his place behind the mic, taking a few deep breaths. Then, he began to sing.

" _Words you're saying, facial expressions;_

 _I can't understand._

 _The hardest thing in the world for me is to try and gain your trust._

 _If you teach me how to truly love you,_

 _Do you think that we will never be apart?_

 _Maybe we could even be more than just what we are?_

 _Making a heart that's like the wind; stay with me forever,_

 _Difficult I know, still I'm holding on,_

 _I'll keep on waiting here just for you!"_

"Tetsuya," Takumi stared at his brother, noticing the expression on his face; hurt. The younger Kuroko had been hurt again and again and even though he had promised that he'd protect him; he didn't. Tetsuya was never the one to voice out his feelings, after all. Maybe it was because of the harsh childhood the two experienced, Takumi wasn't sure. He glanced at the headmaster who seemed pleased when he heard the younger sing. Out of all the people in the room right there and then, he knew it like the back of his hand;

Tetsuya is talented.

* * *

 **[Time** **Skip]**

 _From: Ogiwara-kun_

 _Subject: Winter Cup_

 _Hey, Kuroko! So as you know, my team's going for Finals! Can't wait to fight against you! We're totally not gonna lose. We're going all out on you guys, so be prepared! :D_

Kuroko stared at the text message he received a few hours ago. Yes, Meiko Middle School is going to move to the Finals. Teiko was still in the semi-finals, but the win for them was absolutely obvious. Tetsuya turned his phone off before leaning against the lockers, pulling his knees to his chest and burying his face between them.

"Ogiwara-kun is really anticipating our match, but.." He closed his eyes tightly, his shoulder shaking slightly. "Akashi-kun, why did you change? Why? You said we'd be together through thick and thin, so why did you go against your words? Why did you do this to me? Weren't we friends?" He muttered, the tight grip he had on his knees slowly weakening and he just leaned against the lockers, tears running down his face.

"Why did you turn to someone you promised you wouldn't?"

It all happened a few days ago; Murasakibara had stated during practice that he didn't want to attend practice anymore. Akashi had protested, and they ended up having a basketball match. Akashi was about to lose in an utterly humiliating defeat by 4-0 when the tables turned by the eleventh hour and he won. After the match, the heir suddenly announced that he didn't care if they attended practice or not as long as they didn't flub during matches.

Kuroko had voiced out his thoughts about how that wasn't a team, but Akashi had responded by saying that teamwork wasn't important as long as they bring back gold- after all, winning is everything. He suddenly went to first name basis and Kuroko swore he never felt so disgusted hearing his name rolled off the tip of Seijuurou's tongue.

* * *

 ** _You turned around to face me,  
To not say stupid lies,  
You smiled but I knew it was just a poor disguise._**

* * *

Kuroko was honestly excited to fight against his childhood friend; that was all he asked for. The reason why he went to this school, the reason why he joined the basketball team, the reason why he went through all that suffering, the reason he did everything he could to stay. So the fact that he got hurt during the semi-finals and that meant him not being able to play with the other indeed hurt him- it felt like he was stabbed right in his heart. It hurt him so, so much.

"Akashi-kun, please play this game seriously; I beg of you!" He pleaded, bowing his head in front of the redhead. The redhead agreed, telling him that he'd show them the true Generation of Miracles. At that time, Tetsuya felt relieved.

Of course, he was too naïve.

The opponent's team was crushed to pieces, the Miracles barely breaking a sweat as they walked back to the locker rooms. The look on Kuroko's face was something someone could read like an open book; miserable, pathetic, heartbroken, despondent, betrayed. Of course, he had asked all of them why they did that. Their answer?

"Eh, Kurokocchi's friend was in the rivaling team?" Kise gasped.

"Well, they'd get crushed either way." Murasakibara yawned.

"It was naïve of you to think that we could go all out." Midorima commented.

"Even if we want to, we can't. They're too weak." Aomine stated.

"Why didn't you say about all the other games? Why did you voice out only in this match? Don't you think that was and is selfish of you?" Akashi questioned.

Tetsuya knew. He understood all that. He was selfish, he only thought about his childhood friend's happiness, while ignoring the other teams they went against. But wasn't it okay to be selfish at times?

No.

This wasn't the first time he was being selfish. The time when Aomine left him and how he desperately tried to reconcile their friendship, the time when he used Kise's naïveness for his own need, the time when he got mad with Midorima for forcibly trying to help him move on from his past, the time when he wanted Murasakibara to stay by his side and how he got upset at him when he didn't tell him about his plans of moving and the time when he actually hoped for Akashi to stay by his side. He was so selfish, he knew it like the back of his hand; and yet he put a blind eye to it. The miracles weren't the only one to blame; it was still partly his fault.

When he exited the suffocating room, the room that the people inside had pointed their fingers back at him, when he went to apologise to Ogiwara; there he was, standing just outside the room with a hurt expression. Kuroko was stunned, he didn't know how to react. Ogiwara suddenly just appeared before him and walked away with a disappointed look, leaving the tealnette who was still in his trance.

When he did realise Ogiwara had left, it was too late. Thinking that he couldn't catch up with the other, he took out his phone and shakily dialed his number, running out of the arena. Ogiwara answered after the second ring. "Kuroko, how could you?" Ogiwara's trembling voice asked over the phone, making the one on the other line shake slightly. He heard. Ogiwara had heard his conversation with Akashi. It was his fault it ended like this. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Ogiwara-kun, please forgive me!" The other begged in a pleading tone, looking around as he finally got out of the building; but the reply he got only made him stop, bursting into tears. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I can't do it anymore. You're just the same as the other miracles. Cruel and selfish, just like them." The call ended just like that, making the tealnette fall to his knees, hot tears streaming down his pale cheeks as he covered his mouth with his hand, trembling violently.

 _Why is it always my fault?_

* * *

There he was now, standing at the school's rooftop; dangerously close to the ledge. His heart was beating so fast in his chest that it hurt; but he didn't care. Not anymore. His phone vibrated, indicating that someone was calling him; it was Takumi. He answered the call, lifting the phone and placing it just beside his ear. Takumi began scolding him about how late it was and how he still wasn't back yet. "Yuki even went to see the game! He said you were injured and that you disappeared as soon as the game ended! Where the fuck are you?"

Silence.

Now, Takumi was worried. His instincts told him something was wrong and he needed to see his younger brother now. "Tetsuya, you okay?" He asked gently. There was a slight pause until, "I don't know anymore, Takumi." Tetsuya breathed out. "Everyone left, even Ogiwara-kun; and you know what sucks? It's all my fault. It hurts so much. I keep ruining everything, I don't even have the courage to jump-!"

"DON'T JUMP!" Takumi shouted, startling the other. "Tetsuya, you know death more than I do. You're familiar with grief more than I am. Surely you wouldn't make a foolish decision like that?" Just when Tetsuya was about to reply, the door opened. "Hey kid! What the hell are you doing here?" A security guard came up to him, his face looking as furious as ever; after all, students weren't supposed to be at school at this time of day. Kuroko turned around and took a step back, and before he knew it he was falling. His chest beat wildly; he closed his eyes and before his back hit the hard concrete ground, he wanted to scream out;

 _I.. don't want to die yet!_

* * *

Aomine was walking to school when his shoulders suddenly felt heavy and made him lean forward. "What the- Kise!" He pushed the said male off his back, Kise grinning from ear to ear. "Morning, Aominecchi!" Kise greeted. "You're too fucking loud," the ganguro complained and began walking to school with Kise behind him. The two began talking as they made their way, though the conversation ended as soon as they reached the school.

"Why are the police here? Why is Satsuki and Coach Sanada with the headmaster? Why is Satsuki crying?" Aomine walked towards the school, pushing the other students away; until a police officer stopped him. "This place is off-limits today. All of you, go back home!" Some students cheered and the crowd soon dispatched; though the Miracles ended up staying there longer, demanding for answers.

Momoi suddenly went to them, her eyes were red and her face was stained with wet tears. She stood in front of Akashi and raised a hand, slapping him across his face. "Satsuki/Momocchi/Momoi/Sacchin!" The Miracles yelled at her, pulling her back only to get slapped as well. "Tetsu-kun always went to me after you broke up. He always seek comfort and I always had to face a crying Tetsu-kun at the end of the week." Momoi muttered. "I really hope you guys are happy that you broke him; because he's not coming back."

"What.. do you mean?" Kise decided to speak up, looking at the girl. Satsuki took a bag from Coach Sanada's hold and threw at their direction. "Those were Tetsu-kun's things; his wristband, his uniform, his medicine and his resignation letter. Why I'm giving to you this? Well, let me tell you something;

Kuroko Tetsuya is dead."

* * *

 **The weight I carry is now gone,  
So please don't worry anymore,  
Oh I'm,  
I'm a beautiful- no, a cowardly liar..**

* * *

"An Akashi never makes a mistake, huh?" Seijuurou muttered to himself as he held onto an iPod that Kuroko also left with a note that said 'To: Akashi-kun'. He turned it on and found a message that was entitled as 'The Little Prince'. He played the message, his whole body froze when he did.

And at that time, he knew he let go of something that he held precious deep down in his heart. Akashi Seijuurou made a mistake.

* * *

 **For this fic, please listen to; https/watch?v=4ArExeVXiHU**

 **I think it still need editing, but I wanted to update it as fast as I could. And since it's AkaKuro week, it's the perfect time. Happy AkaKuro week everyone!**


	6. A New Me

Have you ever been in a situation where you're forced to sit back and watch some kind of shitty movie that you question how it was even approved by the producers or how it even got it actors and/or actresses? Right now, you are going to witness something similar- or in this case, imagine it.

A boy was kneeling down on the floor, in front of him was a cinema-like screen; showing him what he felt like traumatising memories repeatedly. The boy was clueless; why on _earth_ was he watching this, and why was he hurting so much because of it? He was tired of crying, of screaming; but he didn't stop. He wanted to stop so badly but _,_ something wouldn't let him.

"You're completely nothing to me."

 _Just what do you mean by that?_

"You've moved on anyway, right?"

 _I don't even know you!_

"It's useless to keep something like this."

 _But why does this hurt so much?_

"It's not important, right?"

 _Why does my heart ache every time I see you?_

"It's your fault too, isn't it?"

 _What was?_

I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't understand, _I–_

"Do you realise your mistakes now? Do you realise how utterly foolish were your decisions before? Do you realise how you made everyone else unhappy?" A shadow appeared before the sobbing bluenette, his eyes staring back at him; as if they were piercing through his body and soul.

 _No, I don't! Who_ are _you?_

"Asking me such a question," the phantom clicked its tongue, "you should be ashamed of yourself."

 _Ashamed for what?!_

Slowly, the shadow knelt in front of him, his hands cupping both of his cheeks and caressing it. The boy who was a sobbing mess flinched at the ice cold touch, a shudder running down his spine. He didn't know, he didn't understand, but he did knew one thing;

He was scared.

"Are you tired?"

 _..Yes._

"Do you want this endless loop to stop?"

 _I do._

"Then tell me; who are you?"

 _..Eh?_ Eyes widened as realisation hit him.

 _That's right.._ His head tilted downwards, looking at his for some reason bloodied hands with wide eyes.

 _Who am I?_

* * *

Slowly opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was the white ceiling. The first thing he heard was the monotone beeping that came from his side that was soon followed by some kind of muffled sobbing. He slowly turned his head – with much difficulty, surprisingly, – to find a blond figure who was on his knees, face buried in the white sheets and both of the male's hands clutched the bed sheets as tightly as he could, his nails digging into them; almost tearing the fabric as he did. Slowly, the patient moved his hand to place it on top of the crying blond's head, who stopped abruptly and raised his head, meeting the light blue hues he came to adore so much.

"Te..tsuya?"

Tetsuya shook his head as if telling him he was fine, that he was alright; smiled and raised his hand to wipe the tears that the elder male had shed just a moment ago. Almost immediately, Seiji launched himself on the bluenette and wrapped his arms around the other. "I was so worried, Tetsuya! We were so scared that you'd leave us; that you'd suddenly go away without saying anything! I, we–!" Kuroko pat the blond hair, looking into those topaz eyes and smiling at the other, gesturing him once again that it was alright. Seiji slowly let go of the other and called the doctor, and was then ushered outside by the nurses.

The blond now stood outside of the room, holding his phone between his two palms tightly. It was just so sudden; a few months ago, he was just playing some video games with his younger brothers after dinner when he got a call from Haruko who had informed him that Tetsuya had jumped off the school building. Tetsuya was fortunate enough that he landed on some bushes, but the fall was still high and he ended up getting in a coma.

The group of boys had taken turns in looking after Tetsuya in the hospital due to school. The headmaster was kind enough to let them take leaves and visited the comatosed male himself during the weekends, when it was Takumi's turn to look after his younger brother. The group of five boys were put into the same class so things like notes and homeworks were always passed by the one who was absent.

Today, on the 24th of April, Kuroko Tetsuya woke up.

Slowly unlocking his phone, he dialed a certain female's number, bringing his phone close to his ear and hearing the same monotone beeping sound thrice before a confused hello. "Ah, Satsuki? I have something to tell you; Tetsuya.. he woke up."

* * *

Momoi Satsuki was the only former Teiko student that knew Kuroko Tetsuya is still alive. In all honesty, she was rather close with Kuroko, and was also the only one who knew Kuroko was going to be an idol. Tetsuya had introduced her to Takumi and the others and they got along fairly quickly, and she was later given the name Tsuki; which meant Moon by Shiro. She was once offered a job as an A&R and/or a manager, but she had requested time to think about it. She decided to accept the offer after graduating from Teiko but since she didn't want any suspicion going on with her middle school friends, she didn't attend Seirin Private High and instead attended Tōō High together with her childhood friend, Aomine Daiki.

Satsuki was the person Kuroko confronted his problems with the most, since she was a good listener and a good friend. She, too, had opposed the idea of him dating each Miracles and had been a keeping an eye out for the tealnette, so the day he disappeared after the game made her severely anxious. She along with Yuki who was supposed to drive him to the studio for dance lessons went to search for him for hours, only to find out he had jumped off the school rooftop. She of course had her ways and found out he didn't want to jump and was about to go back home, but apparently caught off guard when a security guard had scared him and he fell. Long story short, it didn't end well for the security guard.

She now works as an A&R under the Seirin Agency whilst being a full-time student and a manager for Too's basketball team. Her schedule was often full even during the weekends, but since her job was just talent scouting and overseeing the artistic developments of Takumi's group, she still had some free time unlike the other boys. Another reason why she didn't attend Seirin was because she didn't want to leave her childhood friend who was still in the process of mourning alone. Although Aomine told her he was fine and joined the school's basketball team, he played games by himself in frustration and still skipped practice every now and then. However, during Kuroko's "funeral", he had thrown away the egoistical mask he had and broke down, apologising dozens of times to the "dead" boy. Satsuki had slowly learned to forgive him, and he slowly began to change the way he'd treat people; actually knowing when to stop and not cross the line. Momoi guessed it was because he didn't want something like that to happen once again.

"Seiji-kun? It's been a while. I'm actually in a club meeting, so could you call later?" Momoi turned around and tried ignoring the stares she was receiving from the male players. Her smile soon faded as she heard the news the teen on the other line told her. Her breath hitched as the words that she awaited for _months_ came out of the male from the other line. She took her bag from the bench and excused herself, tears rolling down her cheeks as she ran out of the room, ignoring the shouts from others. The meeting continued after a few disagreements.

Making her way to Tokyo Medical Center, she went to room 2031 and stopped in front of the group of males she was working with. "Seiji-kun," she panted, walking towards him and gripping on his shirt, her eyes clearly reflecting all sorts of emotion; desperation, worry, hopefulness. "Is it true? Tetsu-kun's awake?" Seiji smiled and nodded, pointing inside the room that had Tetsuya on the bed with Takumi beside him, reading some sort of children's story book to the younger. "He has amnesia, though," he uttered and the girl's eyes widened, "He doesn't remember how to sing and dance, nor does he remember how to read or write. It'll take some time, but I think we can manage now that he's finally awake." Shiro butted in, his eyes casted to the floor as his lips curled into a small smile. "Tsuki, go talk to him. He's looking at you, y'know?" The youngest male in the group laughed at how the girl's cheeks turned to a bright shade of pink. Satsuki hit his side before walking inside the room, an awkward smile on her face. "H-Hi.." Tetsuya stared at the girl and then at his brother, who just smiled and nodded. "Hello," the two greeted back in unison.

It was the most awkward conversation Momoi ever had.

* * *

After a few months, Tetsuya was able to sing and dance like he used to and was surprisingly better than before, but the way he acted was slightly different. He was more quiet, he was sort of a mischievous and mysterious type and he didn't trust people as much but the fact that he would still smile and act as if something wasn't wrong in front of them proved his acting skills. He would constantly ignore Seiji and Haruko's words and sometimes even Takumi's. He was a bit rude and Haruko said he was going through his "it's not a phase, mom" phase. Miraculously, everything stopped when he was introduced to Kagami Taiga; his future duet partner who was debuting as a solo artist. They didn't get along at first, but after a while of getting to know each other, they were inseparable. Tetsuya was more willing to be with Kagami rather than the others, and this made Takumi slightly annoyed. Although Kuroko had labeled him as the "ultimate mom" due to the fact that he could cook, and how he was a bigger mom friend than Takumi. Sometimes he wouldn't even deny he was a mom and admit it.

Crazy tiger.

Now, they were getting ready for their debut and was currently in a meeting. Tetsuya stared at the ceiling, then put his hand up, blocking half of the light and then closed his eyes before sighing. "Tetsuya, you okay?" Takumi called, putting the papers aside on the table, waiting for the response he knew he won't get. "Tetsuya?" He called once again, and the tealnette finally looked at him. "Y'know, I've been thinking about this for some time now; can you stop calling me Tetsuya?" He stared at the leader in the eyes with a bored look in his face.

"What?" Takumi emphasised the question and furrowed his brows, staring at the tealnette as if he had gone crazy. Tetsuya began to explain; "You said that I jumped off that rooftop and my personality changed ever since I woke up, so I'm no longer Kuroko Tetsuya. I don't know who he is. You can tell me that's me, but I don't know him. I don't remember my childhood or what happened before I woke up and every single one of you can blame the amnesia, but I personally feel like I'm being someone I'm not."

"I'd say that's bullshit, but-" Yuki's words were cut off by Takumi. "Sure. It'll be as your stage name then." Cue the disagreements. "Takumi, are you sure about this?" Seiji looked at the leader then at the twin. "Yeah, I get your reason, but don't you think it's too sudden?" Shiro added. "Better late than never," was Takumi's reply. "What are the names then?" Haruko questioned. Takumi crossed his arms and hummed, trying to think of some good names.

"Since we're twins and that's absolutely obvious, I'll change mine too. Our grandparents called us a different name, right? Mine was Mitsuru while yours was Minoru. Wanna use that?" Tetsuya smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Perfect."

* * *

They had their debut five months later, on September 9th as MYST. They had sung their first song which was entitled "Loser" and it was a huge hit. Seiji, Yuki and Shiro had kept their real names whilst the twins used their stage names, in which Takumi was known as "Mitsuru" and Tetsuya as "Minoru". Shortly after they released their first album, the agency divided them to two sub units, which consisted Seiji, Yuki and Shiro as one group and the twins as the other. Seiji, Yuki and Shiro's group was known as SYS and the twins were known as M&M. Kagami had debuted later after he came back from America and was known as Light.

Keeping their identity was a pain in the neck, to be honest. Whenever they were in talk shows or were interviewed, they would always get questioned to why the twins didn't use their real name, but Takumi would always tell them that they wanted to use the names their deceased grandfather had gave them. After a few "I'm sorry for your lost" and "My condolences", they would soon go back to the topic in hand.

Momoi worked as their A&R and at the same time was learning under Haruko who was their Manager. After MYST's debut, Haruko had introduced her to Aida Riko, their producer who welcomed her with open arms, albeit having an obvious jealousy over her chest size. Riko had shown her the ropes about being an A&R and told her that if she couldn't go to the work place, she could instead go and check out the soon-to-be-idols and idols-in-training or scout those who she thinks has the potential of being a idol and report to her afterwards. Satsuki realised it was extremely tiring to juggle two things at once; her being MYST's A&R and Tōō basketball team's manager. However, despite having her hands full, she was happy.

After high school, Aomine had stopped playing basketball competitively due to him aiming to become a policeman. Momoi had forgotten that he actually wanted to become one ever since he was a kid due to an incident she didn't remember about, but remembered that occurrence made the latter start respecting policemen.

Kise had told her that he was going to quit being a model and instead be a pilot because he wanted to travel. "Besides, I have Kurokocchi up there to keep me safe. Or at least, I hope." He told her and chuckled afterwards. Momoi noticed how forced the laugh was and had to bite her tongue in order not to spill out the secret.

Midorima had informed her that he was going to continue study medicine to become a doctor and take over his father's hospital. "I want and need to cleanse my sins. Just going to pray at the shrine isn't going to be enough; I want to be someone who saves instead of someone who kills." A surgeon, Momoi guessed. Midorima was going to dirty his hands more, but with the intent of saving the person under the knife.

Murasakibara had called her during Christmas, saying that he was going to be a pastry chef and open a cafe in Akita. "Kuro-chin really liked vanilla and sweet stuff, so I'm going to name the shop Vanilla Cafe." She laughed, telling him the name was just too bland. Murasakibara hummed, and then said that it didn't matter, since it was like Kuro-chin. "My pastries are going to be super yummy, so it wouldn't be so bland. Like Kuro-chin, he was kinda boring but when you get to know him, he isn't that boring." Satsuki smiled at how childish he still was.

Akashi had announced that he was going to Tokyo University and take the business course as expected seeing that he had to take over his father's company as well. "My father has already given 25% of the heritage to me, so my hands are going to be full. I still have the deal that he leaves me alone on every 31st January, so don't worry." Momoi smiled at his words.

All of them were going their own ways, but they still would contact one another. She was grateful. And if the old Kuroko Tetsuya heard this, she was sure that he would be happy as well. Even after five years since then, they all were still laughing, but there was this void that they couldn't fill in, and even Momoi felt it despite knowing that person was alive and well.

One day, just before they went home for the day, Takumi had came up to her. Momoi was puzzled; after all, Takumi never looked so serious before. She had asked if he was alright, and the leader had reassured her that everything was fine. "So, what did you want to discuss about?"

Takumi grinned before uttering the long awaited words; "It's time."

* * *

 **FUN FACT**

 _~ MYST is read as mist_  
 _~ MYST is based on their names (Minoru/Mitsuru, Yuki, Shiro/Seiji, Takumi/Tetsuya)_  
 _~ SYS i (not sure how but I always see that spanish(?) always use the letter "y" instead of "x" when referring two people.. I'm not good at explaining things ok so if you don't understand I'm sorry;;; )_  
 _~ M &M in Minoru/Mitsuru and also because I'm a Mamoru Miyano trash orz_  
 _~ The five years thingy is AFTER they graduate from High School, so they meet the group during their mid-twenties (24-25)._


	7. MYST's Comeback

"Dai-chan, you're so slow!" Momoi had called out to the male who was holding all of her shopping bags, turning around to see him just a few meters away. The male's face could be read like an open book; annoyed. "I think that's all of it. Wait, maybe I left some–" A loud groan was heard. "Ha?! You already went to Carlo Rino and a lot more shops, and you still wanna buy more? Just how much money do you have, Satsuki?!" Aomine placed the bags down, glaring at the girl who was looking anywhere else but him. "I'm buying these for a friend, so don't be such a party pooper."

"Bullshit." He rubbed the back of his head, before picking up the bags. "I think that's about it. Ah! We're supposed to meet the others at Starbucks in ten minutes! Dai-chan, let's go!" She cried, dashing through the crowd and to the said destination, leaving the poor male alone. "Oi, Satsuki! Wait up, will you?" He abruptly chased the girl, telling himself to never ever go shopping with her again.

After taking a few bags from the bluenette, they walked side by side, Momoi apologising whilst Aomine rolling his eyes at the apologies. After a few minutes, they they arrived at the cafe and noticed a certain blond male put up his hand, calling the two. "Momocchi, Aominecchi!" The usual grin was plastered on his face; Momoi tugging Aomine's shirt and pointing at the group of friends before running towards them. "Long time no see, Ki-chan, Midorin, Mukkun and Akashi-kun!"

"Long time no– Momocchi, did you buy _everything_?" Kise stood up and walked towards her, taking a peek into her bags. "You should've just called me! Since I used to be a model, I got discounts and still have them 'till now!" He took the bags and set them aside, pulling the chair and gesturing the girl to sit; a gentleman as always. "Really? Bummer! A friend I'm working with asked me to buy these since they had promotions. But it's alright; there's always next time." Kise was about to open his mouth to say something, when–

"Shut up, Kise. You're too loud." Aomine grumbled, setting the last bag aside and sitting beside him, a loud sigh escaping his lips. Kise frowned, crossing his arms and turning around with a pout, murmuring "Aominecchi is a big meanie" under his breath. Momoi giggled; the group didn't really change much, everyone was lively as ever. A plastic cup was then placed in front of her by Murasakibara who said he bought her a drink earlier. Momoi thanked him and took a sip; the sweet taste of caramel and cream melting in her mouth.

"Hey, do you guys wanna come with me to a concert later tonight?" Momoi voiced out, and all eyes were on her. "A concert? Which one?" Akashi leaned in, seemingly interested. "MYTS's concert! I got free tickets when I bought their album with a few of my friends, but they couldn't go so they gave their tickets to me." She took her bag and fished out the tickets; six of them, to be exact.

"Sure! I've never been to their concert before, but a lot of my colleagues talk about them and I'll say, their songs are great!" Kise nodded, and Momoi gave him a ticket which he gratefully accepted. "But what does 'MYST' stands for anyway?" Kise questioned, drinking his own Frappuccino . "Well, I heard it's short for 'Maybe You Shine Too', but some said it's actually based on their names; Mitsuru, Minoru, Seiji, Shiro and Yuki." Momoi explained, handing a ticket to everyone else. "They're having a comeback today and there's going to be a special guest, too!"

"They sound like retards." Aomine commented after looking them up. Momoi, offended, smacked his head and crossed her arms rolling her eyes. "Well, at least they get girls who wants to date them; unlike you." Aomine gasped, offended by the girl's remark. Somehow, that insult brought back memories from eight years ago which he always wanted to forget. Unexpectedly, the redhead who was sitting in front of her gave the ticket back. "Unfortunately, I can't go. I still have to finish the work my lecturer and my father gave me, and I'm still working as an entertainer in that bar I told you before. I took the night shift today, so I can't. Sorry, Momoi."

"No no, it's alright! It's partly my fault for asking all of a sudden." Momoi internally cursed at herself as she couldn't bring the male. "What about you guys? Are you going?" She turned to look at the others. "Well, I wouldn't dare leave a girl go to a concert all by herself," Kise smiled. "I don't wanna hear your dad screaming his head off at me later," Aomine grumbled. "I don't want these two pulling you in a mess, so I have no choice." Midorima sighed. "I don't have anything better to do, so I'll join you." Murasakibara replied. Momoi smiled and gave a nod.

"Great!"

* * *

"Tetsu-kun, happy birthday!" Momoi exclaimed, walking to a gravestone which tombstone had the name 'Kuroko Tetsuya' engraved on it. She placed a bouquet of flowers that was pink in colour; Gladioli flowers. "We came to see you again. Do you like the flowers?" Kise knelt down and placed yellow daffodils beside the pink gladioli. He clapped his hands and closed his eyes, whispering something inaudible to everyone else but himself. He then took a step back, standing next to Momoi.

"Sorry for not visiting you often, Kuro-chin. I was busy for the assignments my chef gave me, but there's a butsudan I made just for you back in Akita." Murasakibara murmured, placing chrysanthemums on the grave. "Oha Asa said that meeting someone important to me today will bring me good luck," Midorima mumbled, doing the same thing the other's did; placing orchids on top of the other flowers.

"Yo, Tetsu. Happy birthday." Aomine knelt down and placed hydrangeas beside the orchids and clasped his hands together and murmuring something before moving away. Akashi was the last person who placed his flowers; roses. "It's been five years since then," he forced the words out of his throat. "Are you still mad at me?" Silence. He closed his eyes and sighed before standing up, walking away. Once he was far enough from the grave, he looked up the blue sky before mouthing;

 _I'm sorry_.

* * *

In another place..

The two brothers were currently in their dressing room, singing the songs they was supposed to perform later together. Suddenly, the door was knocked and their manager came in. "Mitsuru, Minoru," Haruko called, "can you come to the lounge room later? The other members are already there." With a nod, the twins closed their books and took a drink from their water bottles before exiting the room, following their manager from behind. As soon as she opened the door, the room was filled with his band members and staffs, a smile plastered on their faces. "Happy birthday, Mitsuru and Minoru!' They said, and when he turned around he saw his twin beside him just as surprised.

"Well, this is certainly unexpected," Mitsuru chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh well, let's celebrate then!" He elder said, and pulled his younger brother who didn't resist much.

* * *

"Ah, I'm so excited!" Momoi gripped her concert ticket tightly, a wide smile on her face. "You really like this group, don't you?" Kise teased. "Yeah! You'll understand why when the concert starts." Momoi beamed, humming the tune to one of their songs. The former model smiled and didn't press the subject further, though he was just as eager to get inside the hall.

"I'm actually surprised that there are guys here. At least it won't be so awkward." Aomine muttered, and some of the group members agreed. "For once, Aomine is saying something decent." Midorima commented. "Hey!"

"Guys, it's our turn!" Momoi called and took their tickets before handing them to the staff, winking as she went in the hall with the other boys. As they sat on their assigned seats - which was apparently in the VVIP zone - the lights went off and the sillhoeuettes of the singers appeared on the big screen. They began to state the rules such as videos and photographs weren't allowed in the hall, eating wasn't allowed as well and so on.

"So my princess," Yuki's voice purred, "shall we start?" Seiji continued his question, and the whole arena screamed. The boys had to cover their ears just so they wouldn't have to resort to buying hearing aids.

"Three," Mitsuru started.

"Two," Minoru continued.

"One." Shiro finished.

There was a big bang as the five boys emerged from below the stage, all wearing casual-looking clothes.

 **BTS - Dope English Cover**

 _ **Ayo ladies and gentlemen,**_

 _ **So if you're ready then we'll begin, yeah!**_

 _ **I am unique, different from the rest,**_

 _ **With my style, with my style, eo!**_

 _ **I work every night, every day,**_

 _ **When you're wasting time and out to play, yeah.**_

 _ **(I don't give a f, I don't give a f)**_

 _ **So listen to what I have to say,**_

 _ **(I don't give a f, I don't give a f)**_

 _ **I got a feel, I got a feel,**_

 _ **I am so dope!**_

 _ **We're dope, dope, dope, sweat dripping away,**_

 _ **We go go go, dance moves they will slay,**_

 _ **I'm not wimpy nor scrimpy nor skimpy, aha unlike you,**_

 _ **Oh you got nothing on me 'cause I'm so dope with hope.**_

 _ **Okay my dope, from my head all the way to my toes, (I'm so dope)**_

 _ **So easily I'll steal the show, (I'm so dope)**_

 _ **All work no play, our youth may rot away,**_

 _ **But in the end it's the top where I'll make my way, oh Holla! (I'm so dope!)**_

 _ **I work every night, every day,**_

 _ **When you're wasting time and out to play, yeah.**_

 _ **I am unique, different from the rest,**_

 _ **I don't wanna say yes, I don't wanna say yes.**_

 _ **Come make some noise, alright, (alright)**_

 _ **Go until your fuel burns up, all night. (all night!)**_

 _ **'Cause we got fire, fire! Higher higher!**_

 _ **I gotta make it, gotta gotta make it.**_

 _ **So dope!**_

 _ **Go away go away,**_

 _ **I'm too good for you, yeah.**_

 _ **Everyone follow me! (Dope dope dope!)**_

 _ **So dope!**_

 _ **Go away go away,**_

 _ **You'll have to obey me,**_

 _ **Everyone follow me! (Dope dope dope!)**_

 _ **So dope!**_

The whole arena screamed the member's name, including Momoi. "M-Y-S-T! M-Y-S-T! M-Y-S-T!" They all waved their light sticks, chanting the group's name as if they were some kind of sacred _**god. Soon they all went quiet as the next song started.**_

 _ **BTS - Run [English Cover]**_

 _ **You're the one and only sun, I'm needing in my world,**_

 _ **The only one I want; the one I'm blooming toward.**_

 _ **So lonesome lonesome, can't live without you so,**_

 _ **I'm needing you, I know, so don't leave or let me go.**_

 _ **I'm trying hard to hold on but I'm crashing, boom, (boom boom)**_

 _ **No matter how I run I'm still in the same old room, (room room)**_

 _ **Just burn me up, okay? Go on and push me away,**_

 _ **This race I'm running, dashing, sprinting; just to get to you.**_

 _ **Making me run more, making me run more,**_

 _ **No matter how my feet are swelling up,**_

 _ **When I see your smile; I know it'll heal it up.**_

 _ **Again I run run run, I just can't seem to stop it,**_

 _ **I run run run, I just can't seem to help it,**_

 _ **I keep trying in the end I've done nothing,**_

 _ **You are only one that I am still loving.**_

 _ **Again I run run run, don't matter if I'm falling,**_

 _ **I run run run, I'm hurting and I'm bawling,**_

 _ **Even if you are pushing me away,**_

 _ **I'll accept this cursing fate I'll be okay.**_

 _ **Run~ Don't tell me bye-bye,**_

 _ **Run~ You make me cry-cry,**_

 _ **Run~ Love is a lie-lie,**_

 _ **Don't tell me, don't tell me, don't tell me bye-bye.**_

"I don't like their songs." Aomine frowned. Momoi glanced at him and Midorima who agreed, and a smirk appeared on her lips. Of course they wouldn't like the songs; it obviously brought back memories and feelings they tried to avoid as much as they could. Then, she recalled the time she talked with Takumi the day before.

 _"What do you mean it's time?" Momoi faced him, clueless of what he was planning. Takumi always had this kind of mysterious aura surrounding him, and just like his brother; it was hard to read him. He was absolutely unpredictable._

 _"It's time those pesky Generation of Miracles find out the truth. I think eight years is enough mourning, don't you think so too?" He smiled, and a shudder ran down the A &R's spine. "Invite them to the concert tomorrow; all of them. Don't worry about the tickets, I have them right here." He gave her an envelope that contained six tickets, including hers._

 _"You'll be meeting them tomorrow, so give them those when you do."_

After the song, the singers waved at the audience and thanked them for coming to the concert. "Are you guys having fun?" Yuki shouted, and the arena screamed a "Yes!" as a reply. "This is our first concert in a while, isn't it?" Shiro asked. "Did you guys miss your oh-so-adorable Shiro-tan?" He winked childishly at the fans, and laughed as they were all in their fangirl mode.

"Well, I guess we have to leave now, don't we, Minoru?" Takumi glanced at his twin who nodded. "I guess so, Mitsuru." The fans said no, but the twins waved it off. "Now, now, milady. We can't interfere with SYS; Mama Seiji would be furious. Wouldn't you, Mama?" Takumi playfully winked at the eldest member who sighed. "I wouldn't want you to steal my fans now, Papa." Seiji answered back. "Ouch, that hurt!"

"Hey, could you guys stop flirting in public and go and get a room?" Yuki retorted, clearly annoyed. Shiro was beside him, who nodded. "That's right, that's right!" Minoru stared at his twin, before uttering the words, "They have a point, you know." Takumi was heartbroken and went towards Seiji for comfort- only to be rejected as well. "Well then, we'll see you later, my princess." Tetsuya waved, and the twins along with the lights disappeared. Then, the music started.

 **Love Addiction - Thrive**

(A/N: Kento is Seiji, Goshi is Yuki and Yuuta is Shiro)

 _ **Baby... I miss you**_

 _ **kimi ni aitakute**_

 _ **Lonely... hitori de**_

 _ **omokage sagashiteru yo**_

 _ **sayonara no wake wo**_

 _ **ikutsu kazoete mitatte**_

 _ **taguri yoseta ito hodoketa kizuna yo**_

 _ **ano hi no kioku wo tsumugi naosou to**_

 _ **nando tameshitemo yokei ni karamaru**_

 _ **tagai no kanjou kometa juukou**_

 _ **kotoba no ransha wo abiseta**_

 _ **tada motsureatteta kosureatteta**_

 _ **chirichiri ni natta**_

 _ **kono yo no owari mitaidatte habakarazu now cry**_

 _ **nakushite wakaru youja TSU-RA-I**_

 _ **imasugu ni kimi no kokoro fureru koto dekita nara**_

 _ **ima naraba boku ga tsuyoku dakishimete yareru no ni**_

 _ **I need your love (love)**_

 _ **Love addiction love (love)**_

 _ **kowareta manma da boku no broken heart**_

 _ **tomaranai jikan dake ga subete kaete yuku no ka...**_

 _ **garasu no aijou kara no fukanshou**_

 _ **waretara futatsu ni naru desho**_

 _ **dare date sou darou itsumo sou darou**_

 _ **barabara ni natte**_

 _ **afuresouna kimochi kakae furikaete bye bye**_

 _ **itsudatte kizuku no ga O-SO-I**_

 _ **imasara ja boku no koe ga todoku koto mo nai**_

 _ **ima naraba kimi no namida uketomete yareru no ni**_

 _ **I wanna love (love)**_

 _ **Love addiction**_

 _ **ima mo mada furi yamazuni ochiru ai no shizuku ni**_

 _ **ima wa tada utare nagara hitori nemuri ni tsuku yo**_

 _ **imasugu ni kimi no kokoro fureru koto dekita nara**_

 _ **ima naraba boku ga tsuyoku dakishimete yareru no ni**_

 _ **I need your love (love)**_

 _ **Love addiction love (love)**_

 _ **kowareta manma da boku no broken heart**_

 _ **tomaranai jikan dake ga subete kaete yuku no ka...**_

 _ **ima mo mada I need your love**_

 _ **ima wa tada I wanna your love**_

The song ended with the audience giving a big round of applause to the group. "Now," Shiro started, "I bet you guys heard of the rumours about a secret guest being with us, huh?" Seiji smiled. "Well, it's true; we do have a special guest with us tonight."

"Introducing, the light and the shadow!"

The lights were once again turned off and the hall was silent. When it was turned back on, Tetsuya was on centre stage with a grand piano, and a familiar red head was leaning against it. Aomine was the first to shout; "Kagami Taiga?!"

 **Vixx LR - Beautiful Liar [English Cover]**

 _ **This beautiful lie**_

 _ **My one last lie to you**_

 _ **Even if it hurts**_

 _ **I hide myself under a mask to hide the truth**_

 _ **Ever since we met, you brought out the bad in me**_

 _ **Every mirror that I shattered was a sad ending**_

 _ **As we kept fighting you told me that I was changing**_

 _ **All the good things about us were slowly fading**_

 _ **So I locked myself up in our dark cold memories**_

 _ **As I replay our worst moments over like a tragedy**_

 _ **I was a monster at night who kept coming back**_

 _ **But when the sun came out I felt like I was under attack**_

 _ **I want to let you go**_

 _ **But my heart stays the same**_

 _ **I think its best to move on**_

 _ **I feel like letting go**_

 _ **let my heart drift away**_

 _ **I think its best if we just go our separate ways**_

 _ **This beautiful lie**_

 _ **My one last lie to you**_

 _ **Even if it hurts**_

 _ **I hide myself under a mask to hide the truth**_

 _ **It's alright if you leave my side**_

 _ **I just want you to live your life**_

 _ **oh I'm**_

 _ **I'm a beautiful**_

 _ **I'm a beautiful liar**_

 _ **I wanted to be the princess in our perfect fantasy**_

 _ **But the poison apples we shared locked me in eternity**_

 _ **After dark it was chaos I had a steel heart**_

 _ **I was a voodoo doll constantly getting ripped apart**_

 _ **But like a devil I chose sinful ways that were far from right**_

 _ **I was a snake who wrapped around you way too tight**_

 _ **Just call me beautiful killer, Hyde and Jekyll, a sinner**_

 _ **It was my biggest error to stay with you, so lets end it**_

 _ **I wont linger around you like a ghost**_

 _ **This is the real me that I show to you, so go!**_

 _ **I think it's time for me**_

 _ **To give my heart to you**_

 _ **The fact that we loved is still beautiful.**_

 _ **This person trapped forever**_

 _ **seems to be more like me now**_

 _ **You turned around to face me**_

 _ **To not say stupid lies**_

 _ **You smiled but I knew it was just a poor disguise**_

 _ **It's a beautiful pain**_

 _ **Letting everything go**_

 _ **It kills me inside**_

 _ **But I fake a smile, put on a poor disguise.**_

 _ **The weight I carried is now gone**_

 _ **So please don't worry anymore, oh I'm**_

 _ **I'm a beautiful**_

 _ **No, a cowardly liar..**_

"Thank you arena!" Kagami shouted, waving at the audience. He went to the other male beside him, grinning from ear to ear as they shared a fistbump. "So, did you like the song? I put all my heart into writing those lyrics." Minoru smiled, and the audience cheered. He chuckled, "I'm glad you liked it." Suddenly, the four remaining members came out from backstage, clapping their hands as they walked towards the duo. "Good job, Light and Shadow!" Mitsuru grabbed his twin's wrist and pulled him close, cupping one cheek with his hand; "Here's a present."

He leaned down and was about to kiss the other when Seiji and Kagami screamed, pulling the two apart while Shiro and Yuki censored the two, the cameras unable to take a clean shot of the twins kissing.

"How many times have we told you," Seiji grabbed the leader's collar, clearly annoyed by his antics. _"NOT_ to do indecent things on stage?!" Kagami continued, letting Minoru stand behind him as if he was protecting the latter. "Kagami, Kazehaya, please stop. You're not my mother." Minoru commented and the two gasped. "Aw, is Mama Seiji jealous?" Mitsuru wrapped his arms around the elder's neck, looking into his eyes. Seiji glared at him before pushing him away, "Get your head out of the gutters."

* * *

"The twins," Kise murmured, "look like Kurokocchi."

"Kagami Taiga," Midorima uttered, looking at the group with wide eyes.

"Sacchin," Murasakibara called, "did you know?"

Momoi turned around and smiled at them, "Of course I did. But I didn't tell you. You know why?" She narrowed her eyes at each and every one of them, her smile faltering before she said, "You didn't have the right to know."

The Generation of Miracles were shocked; how did their former manager know? Why did she keep it a secret? Didn't they made a promise to no longer keep secrets from each other?

After the concert, Momoi told them to follow her to backstage. When they were stopped, the A&R only showed them her pass and the security apologised and let her in. She entered a room that the GoM confirmed as a dressing room. "Great work, everyone!"

"Tsuki!" Shiro jumped from the couch and ran towards her, pulling her in the room. "Did you like my performance? Did you? Did you? I was amazing, wasn't I? Did you notice that Yukki almost tripped during 'Loser'? Well, he is a loser after all!" ("Hey! Watch who you're calling a loser!" Yuki growled.) Satsuki laughed and nodded. "We have guests." Seiji rose from his seat, glancing behind her. "Ah, the Generation of Miracles? I suppose Takumi told you to bring them here?" The girl nodded.

"So, Aomine's here." Kagami was arm wrestling with Yuki at that time, who was losing badly. "Taiga! I give up, I give up!" He slammed his free hand on the table and when the Light let go, he stood up and walked towards Seiji, who sighed and took the first aid kit.

"Oi, Kagami!" Aomine marched in the room and to Kagami, pulling him by his collar. "What the fuck was that? You, singing with Tetsu? Don't fuck with me!"

"Aomine Daiki." Seiji sharply called, his action of wrapping a bandage on Yuki's arm stopping immediately. "If you don't let him go this instant, I will call security." Aomine didn't know what was happening, but the tone Seiji had sounded just like how his mother would say; and it wasn't a good thing. The atmosphere inside the room was absolutely tense. He reluctantly released him and at that moment, the door opened again.

"What a ruckus. Could you please be more quiet?" Tetsuya frowned, and then noticed there were other people in the room. He narrowed his eyes at them, as if he knew who they were; then it dawned on him. "Ah! It's the Generation of Miracles!" He turned to his twin, who nodded. "The so-called prodigies from eight years ago, who never lost a single match against any school."

Suddenly, his arms fell to his side, and he turned to look at them with an unamused expression. "..How boring." He murmured, making his way inside the room. "You would've expected more from them when you first meet them. But look at you; every single one of you are frozen stiff. Well, I can't blame you; you're looking at the guy who you thought was dead for eight years."

Suddenly, Aomine went to stand in front of him. Tetsuya honestly was anticipating what the soon-to-be-policeman was going to do; punch him? Scream? What he didn't expect was for him to kneel down in front of him; "I'm sorry."

"Excuse me?" Tetsuya stared at him, before hearing the exact same words; "I'm sorry."

"For what? For killing me?"

Aomine tensed. "Tetsu-"

"I'm not Tetsuya. He's dead now; I'm Minoru."

"But I guess I could forgive you." He hummed, crossing his arms and a finger tapping his chin. "On one condition."He added, looking at the kneeling male from the corner of his eyes. "If you want to be forgiven, write me a song. All of you. Write me a song that you think could save 'Tetsuya'."

* * *

 **Well then. This chapter was long lmfao.**

 **Links to the songs I used;**

 **Dope: /iipDce-ieDE**

 **Run: /Q1Eqi3Fi6io**

 **Love Addiction: watch?v=dJ_8IK3D7kc**

 **Beautiful Liar: /S3qlD5mwkfQ**


	8. 「 ULTIMATE ZONE 」

"Write a song for me."

The words that escaped the tealnette's lips were difficult to sink in the former miracles' heads, and yet they completely understood him. A song, make a song that could save Tetsuya.

Just what kind of song could save Tetsuya?

"I'll divide the groups," Tetsuya said to break the silence that lingered for far too long. "Aomine and Kagami, Kise and Kisaragi, Midorima and Kazehaya, Murasakibara and Kiryuu, Akashi and Takumi. Sounds good?" He turned to look at the boys, who looked at each other. The tealnette crossed his arms and let out a sigh. "Those who I call, raise your hand."

"Kagami." The redhead raised his hand.

"Kisaragi." Yuki raised his.

"Kazehaya." The eldest raised his hand, a worried expression on the second youngest member.

"Kiryuu." Shiro raised both of his hands rather playfully.

"Takumi." His twin went behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, whispering something in his ear before turning to the Miracles. "All of you are not allowed to stay in contact with each other until everyone is finished with their songs. Do you understand?"

"Now just wait a moment!" Kise snapped. "Kurokocchi, I don't like the groups, nor the way you're acting right now." Kuroko put his palm on his chest, gasping dramatically. "What do you mean you don't like it?" Then, he smirked. "Well, no biggie. But, if you really want Tetsuya's forgiveness," his smirk faltered, eyes narrowing at the blond haired male, "then suck it up, lover boy."

"Both of us will excuse ourselves for now." The twins turned their heels and left the room, and the remaining members of MYST began to clean up before they headed out themselves, the former and incomplete Generation of Miracles with Momoi following suit.

"Momocchi," Kise looked at his former manager, who turned back to look at him. "That.. _was_ Kurokocchi, and yet it _wasn't_ Kurokocchi." The pilot carefully said, sounding like a child that repeated a new word that they would add into their vocabulary. Momoi could only nod.

"That's right. That person was Tetsu-kun, and yet it wasn't Tetsu-kun at all. He's been like that ever since he woke up from his coma. Remember the things I gave you when it was announced that he committed suicide?" The rainbow group nodded. "Those were the things that he always had. Yes, including the resignation letter; he was saving it until Finals were over."

"Oh my god," Aomine leaned against the wall, sliding down and he sat on the floor; his hands covering his face. "All these years, I wanted to apologise to him, thinking he was dead. And today, he appears in front of me; in front of _us_." He stressed the last word, then his head fell and his hands rested behind it, fingers intertwined.

"Dai-chan," Momoi knelt in front of him, her usual smile gracing her face. "You're finally given the chance to make it up to him. Make a good song, 'kay?"

* * *

The week flew rather pleasantly for Aomine, which was something unusual. At least once a week would he be involved in a thieving case or something much worse like street fights. However, the week after Kuroko's announcement, not a single report has been done; not even a single complaint has been lodged. His coworkers were grateful, thinking that maybe God had given them time to rest. However, Aomine thought otherwise; he didn't get a chance to rest, with what had happened the week prior. For almost ten years he thought his best friend was dead; and he just appeared out of no where, with this goddamn annoying narcissistic personality? All that he could think at the time was _what the actual fuck?_

And now, he has to write a song. A song that could save someone. Just what on earth did that mean? How could he write a song? He could barely even sing! With a sigh, he turned his laptop off and excused himself, leaving from work early. He had to think of something fast.

Tetsu's forgiveness was worth more than what his life depended on.

* * *

After meeting with the receptionist and telling her he had a meeting with Kagami Taiga, he was led to the waiting room. Apparently, Kagami was having an interview in another room so Aomine had to wait because of priorities; as if he himself didn't have priorities.

When Kagami finally turned up, Aomine had the urge to beat him him to a pulp. "You're here early, aren't you?" The Light commented, a smug look on his face. "Yeah, and you sure took your time, eh?" The policeman growled, his eyes narrowing at the idol. "Let's save the chit-chat for later and get to the point; why didn't you tell me Tetsu's alive?"

"The answer is obvious, isn't it?" Kagami replied almost instantly, downing his Red bull drink he came with. "You didn't deserve to know. I'm not sure what the hell Minoru's thinking, but since he didn't let you know he was alive until now, did you really think I would?"

"That's another story!" Aomine stood up, grabbing the beverage from the latter's grasp and hurled it to the wall, "I'm his best friend-" And Kagami faced him as well, wasting no time to reply with the words, "Who murdered him after Finals."

Aomine took a step back, the words Kagami uttered slowly sinking in his thick skull. "You've realised it too, didn't you? You're dumb, but you're not that stupid to not understand what Minoru was thinking. Open your fucking eyes," he spat.

 _Minoru, or rather Tetsuya Kuroko, left you without saying a word; just like how you did._

Kagami left, leaving the policeman in his own thoughts. The door closed with a soft click, and it was the most annoying sound Aomine ever heard that week.

Aonine considered leaving the agency since Kagami didn't seem like he was coming back when the door was knocked and opened. A girl with brown coloured hair and matching hazel eyes wearing a rather formal attire came inside and faced him. "Aomine Daiki?" The male nodded. "Light requested for you. Please follow me to the recording room." It caught Aomine off guard, though he didn't waste any time to gather his things and exited the trashed room, following the female like a little duckling.

Once they arrived, Aomine was ushered into the room; it was divided into two by a glass window, one side having the multi-coloured buttons and the other side having a microphone and a seat. Kagami was in the first side, talking to the person in charge. When he took notice that Aomine arrived, he turned to him. "Mitsuru suggested we show you guys one song we're working on so you know the ropes. Sit back and listen to my song. Take notes, if you can; it'll help."

Aomine said nothing in return and sat down, taking his notebook and a pen he brought out of habit and waited until Kagami started.

"Light, are you ready?" The DJ asked. Kagami gave a thumbs up. Once the music started, Kagami took a deep breath before beginning to sing.

Aomine's jaw dropped when the redhead began to sing; was this really Taiga Kagami, his former basketball rival?

* * *

"So, you got your song ready?"

It was already the time where he had to sing. He met Kagami in a similar - albeit bigger - recording room and soon enough, Kuroko - or Minoru, - came in with his brother. "Tetsu, I'm really-"

"Let's save the chit-chat for later, shall we?" The male interrupted, seating himself beside his brother. "Go on, show me what song you decided to use to save him." Aomine clenched his fists, though he didn't give any further comment. Nodding at the person-in-charge, he calmed his racing heart and soon, the music started.

 **[Song: Ultimate Zone, AoKaga duet.]**

When the song finished, Aomine opened his eyes and they immediately landed on the tealnette who had a very disappointed look. Standing up, Kuroko went to the mic and without giving much of a thought, he uttered the words, "You failed."

It took too long for Aomine to let the words sink in. "What?"

"You failed," Takumi repeated his twin's words.

"The song was good, but I told you to write a song that could save Tetsuya. Do you think this could save him? Did you even understand what the task was?" He frowned, then released a heavy sigh. Noticing the ganguro shaking, he smirked. "Aw, is the panther angry?"

"It's your fault, anyway. I knew you were dumb, but I didn't know you were to think extent. Did you really think a song like this could save Tetsuya?" Aomine clenched his fists, wanting to give a retort; unfortunately he didn't know what to say. "Please give-"

"Another chance?" Minoru interrupted. "Sorry, but no. I gave you a second chance and you blew it. It's your fault. That is all."

And with those last words, the twins left the room.

* * *

 ** _So basically I'm gonna end each chapter for this part (I'm gonna call it Memento Mori Arc) with notes to why I chose the song._**

 ** _For this, it's not only because of Ultimate Zone being AoKaga's duet song, but also because Aomine hoping that Kuroko would be able to remember the days they spent basketball together; in other words, he wanted Kuroko to remember the first time they met; back in early Autumn, after practice in the third gym._**

 ** _That is all._**


	9. 「 You are a Flower, You are a Star 」

"Ah, Kise-kun? About your one week vacation?"

"Yes?" The said blond immediately turned around, golden eyes glinting at the paper his boss was holding. He was currently doing his practical at Narita International Airport, his one wish of becoming a pilot only an arm's length away now. His superior, Mr Kaji, was the one who was responsible for him. "Since you've been working nonstop for the past few weeks, I've decided to approve your short break. However, I want you to make sure you get some rest; despite being a former model, your eye bags are visible even from my old eyes here." Kise immediate turned away and took his phone, looking into his reflection; it was true, his eye bags were visible and it looked like he hadn't slept for days. "Ah," he gave a dry chuckle, "something's been on my mind. Nothing to worry about, though."

"Nothing to worry about, my ass," Kaji spat, hitting the male's head with his file. "Make sure you take care of yourself, especially your eyes; we don't want anything to happen to them, do we?" At his tone, Kise fell silent. "Your shift's over. You go back and get some rest now."

"Alright."

* * *

Contrast to what he told his superior, he went to a small coffee shop; the place he was supposed to meet his assigned idol slash partner; Yuki Kisaragi. The meeting time wasn't until half an hour later, but then Kise didn't really mind being early. It already became a habit of him, after all.

After ordering what kind of beverage he was in the mood of, the blond went and sat at the farthermost table; secluded from the crowd. When he got his drink, the male thanked his waiter before taking a sip, glancing up to look around the shop.

It was just a small place, and it gave a comfortable, home-like atmosphere. Kise stared into his cup of coffee longingly, remembering the times when home was actually in his vocabulary. After high school, he had retired as a model and instead pursued his childhood dream of becoming a pilot; surprising everyone, even his former teammates.

He was snapped out of his trance when the soft vibration of his phone came, indicating he received a message. When he opened it, Yuki had informed him that he just finished a TV recording and was on his way. Closing the messaging app and locking his phone, he placed it to the side, in case the latter decided to call later.

 _Yuki Kisaragi, huh?_ Another sip of his cup of coffee as he recalled the slightly older male. They had met a few days prior; only for introduction, they didn't really talk much about the duet. Kise had commented about how his name didn't suit his surname, and was expecting for the latter to burst at him; instead, Yuki had laughed for the first time then. It was because his mother loved snow when she was a child, he said.

The latter gave off a tough, brother-like aura; it suited him, since he really did seem like a reliable older brother. Kise didn't have any brothers, but he did have sisters; one of the reasons why he ended up becoming a model during his adolescence.

Yuki was a person who wouldn't take no for an answer, but he would still apologise first if he was in the wrong. He had an ego that could battle Kise himself, but he was something Kise wasn't.

He was something to Tetsuya Kuroko.

Unlike the blond former model, Yuki had shown the tealnette that he was special, that was someone worthy to be with. The male felt himself biting his lower lip and tightening his grip around the glass cup as flashbacks of what happened after the break up.

It wasn't like he wanted to break up, he knew he had to. Kise had confronted Aomine sometime after the whole scene in the break room. He lashed out at the power forward to the point of them getting into a fist fight. After that, he had a fight with Haizaki; and the person who helped him after was none other than Aomine himself.

Kise had felt the need to push the latter away, to tell him off, to downright tell him to get lost; but he himself got lost in his feelings along the way. Aomine showing kindness was something he didn't expect. Then, it happened.

Right after his modeling work, the male was sure he was late to his date with his boyfriend. He ended up getting stuck in traffic, and because it was worse than normal, he decided to run to the place. He was sure that Kuroko was waiting for him like he always did; and then he would greet him, not commenting about how late he was.

He _never_ commented how late he was.

Kise felt guilty, but he couldn't do anything. He would show his appreciation through being Kuroko's new light, practicing together with him — but he knew that something like that was completely out of his reach. Him being just a replacement of Aomine was something both of them understood, but they never said anything about it. The topic was nothing but the elephant in the room; but before they could discuss about it, fate had something else in store for him.

On their last date, Kise was once again late to his date. Terribly late. The blond was hyperventilating; he was sure Kuroko was going to get tired of waiting and end up going home. He was sure of it. The model sprinted from his workplace to the dating spot, when he met Aomine in the alleyway. The two had a talk, about Haizaki, about Kise's injury, and about his relationship.

"You're going to end up hurting him; just like how I did." Aomine had said, and the latter narrowed his eyes at him. "Oh, I may hurt him in the process and he knows this as well; but no, I'm not going to hurt him like how you did. I'm not going to abandon him like some toy that's broken; I'm not like you, Daiki Aomine." The Gemini had spat, taking out his phone which was vibrating, indicating that someone was calling him.

Before he could even answer, he was pushed to the wall and the next thing he realised, he found himself kissing the former light. Kise had pushed the latter, had hit him in any place he could; but when he deemed that struggling was useless, he stopped. From the bottom of his heart, he knew;

He had feelings for Daiki Aomine.

He felt disgusted with himself; he was, after all, in a relationship with another. He was the one who suggested the idea. He was the one who wanted to fix the phantom's heart.

When his boyfriend suddenly appeared, he had no other choice than to lie. He knew that if he kept on being in denial, both of them would be in great pain; deeper than now. Despite the fact that he was breaking the heart he was supposed to mend, he ended up telling the other he got tired of the other, and that he was sorry.

He wanted to punch himself.

"Oi." The light pat on his head snapped him out of his trance, and when he raised his head, he saw a frustrated Yuki in front of him. "You okay? I called your name twice and you didn't answer me at all, Ryota. You look like shit; did you even rest?" Despite his words, Yuki was worried about the former model.

"Ah," Ryota pulled away from the hand resting on his head, his own hand covering one of his eyes. "I'm just feeling a bit under the weather. I've got a week off, so I'll get all the rest then." He gave a dry chuckle, then looked back down.

Yuki, though unconvinced, decided to drop it and sat down in front of him, taking out an iPod and an earphone. "Sure.. Anyway, here's the song. I've already made the arrangement; and now all you need to do is write the lyrics. I think you should think of a theme first, so that it'll be easier to think of what lyrics we should write."

Kise was silent for two full minutes, eyes closed as he listened to the piano. By ear, he recognised that the first piece was played on a piano, then sounds from a violin and drums were heard. Yuki had went and ordered something for himself, thanking the waiter as soon as it came.

"Flowers and stars." Yuki looked up at the blond, whose eyes were still closed shut when he took out the earpiece. "I just..feel like this song is suitable if the theme is love, and if we're singing about flowers and stars. Both of them represent love itself, don't they?"

"And by that, you mean?" Yuki raised a brow, resting his cheek on the palm of his hand. "Roses represent love. However, blue roses represent something unattainable; just like Kurokocchi's trust right now. For stars.. There's a saying that _The moon is beautiful_ is another way of saying 'I love you', right?"

"I didn't know you were a nerd, Ryota." Yuki commented, and Kise replied with a smile. "I'll take that as a complement, then."

"Well, I don't really see what's the problem with it. The idea is original, and despite not being an idol or having any musical backgrounds, you know your stuff." The male chuckled, jotting down the said information inside a small book. "That's because Kurokocchi used to teach me music before. He was really, really good with the piano."

At this, Yuki had smiled fondly. "He still is."

* * *

When the time to present the song arrived, Kise was nervous. The twins were both in the other side of the room, expectantly waiting for his song.

"Start."

 **[Kimi** **ni Hana wo, Kimi no Hoshi** **wo]**

The first part was Yuki's, and Kise was only backing him up. When the second part came, they switched; Kise being the main, and Yuki backing him up. When the song finished, Kise looked up, and Kuroko was smiling. He felt himself cheer up; was Kuroko finally going to forgive him?

"You failed."

That's when reality crashed him down. Kise took a moment to process the two words, and when he did, he asked once more. "What..?" Yuki himself was speechless; they wrote the song together and he knew the former had put all his feelings inside the song, so why—?

"Songs with love as its theme is quite cliché, don't you think so?" Tetsuya's tone of voice didn't suit the words he uttered; it was too sweet. Yuki took off his headphones, not wanting to hear anymore of the upcoming insults. "Besides," the tealnette smirked at the gaping blond, and said, "you cheated on him, so is your love really genuine?" From Yuki's point of view, the words must've really hurt. What he did not expect was for the former model to cry; wet tears streaming down his cheeks, and to make it worse, Tetsuya seemed as if he was enjoying seeing the other in pain.

"Goodbye, Kise-kun."

* * *

 _Okay, so the reason why I chose this song was due to a few reasons. The first one is because I'm in love with Tsukiuta, second is because Kimura_ _Ryohei, Kise's CV is one of the singers and third is because I think this is what Kise would do._

 _If you read the lyrics, it starts with "I can't tell you that I love you because I'm afraid these feelings will lose form if I do". The second part starts with "I won't tell you that I love you because it's not easy for words to form shape"._

 _The first singer, Kai,_ ** _can't_** _tell the person (who is supposed to be his first love) he loves her because she's dead. The second singer, Shun, (which is Kise),_ ** _won't_** _tell the person (which is his first love, Hajime_ ) _he loves him because he's there. The person, his first love, is there right in front of him; but that's the reason to why he won't; his feelings are too complex. I'll link you to a theory to this song if you wanna understand it better._

 __ _ **.com**_ _ **/post/162209633221/**_ _ **symbolism-of-flowers-for-kimi-ni-hana-wo-kimi-ni**_

 _In other words, Kise won't tell Tetsuya he loves him because he's right there and it's wrong for him to do so._

 ** _"Together, sitting under the night sky, laughing together with you;_**  
 ** _Wishing for an unreplaceable time."_**

 _Side note I feel like this chapter was too OOC for Yuki but then I wanted to show that despite having no delicacy with his words in front of others, he really just cares for someone even if he doesn't know them well. Yuki's name, which means snow, is one of the traits of his personality; the traditional name of February, Kisaragi, shows that he has a gentle side because February is the month of love. Yuki, on the other hand, is beautiful and yet it is cold. If you put these two names together, they become loving and cold; just like Yuki's personality._


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